Science & Society
A science-themed escape room gives the brain a workout
Quantum physicist Paul Kwiat reveals what it takes do well in LabEscape, his science-themed escape room.
Featured Articles in this Issue
-
Cover Story
AI can learn real-world skills from playing StarCraft and Minecraft
By playing StarCraft and Minecraft, artificial intelligence is learning how to collaborate and adapt.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Earth
Warm, dry winds may be straining Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf
Wind-induced melting that occurred during the Antarctic autumn may be accelerating the Larsen C ice shelf’s collapse, which could raise sea levels.
Notebook
Neuroscience
Our brains sculpt each other. So why do we study them in isolation?
Studying individual brains may not be the way to figure out the human mind, a social neuroscientist argues.
Features
-
Can Silicon Valley entrepreneurs make crickets the next chicken?
Entrepreneurs are bringing automation and data analysis to insect agriculture to build a profitable business that helps feed the planet.
-
The search for new geologic sources of lithium could power a clean future
Futuristic clean-energy visions of electric vehicles are driving the hunt for lithium.
More Stories from the May 11, 2019 issue
- Materials Science
Bacteria can be coaxed into making the toughest kind of spider silk
Lab-altered bacteria have made a copy of a spider’s strongest silk strands, which could one day be used to make more sturdy materials.
- Math
Mathematicians may have found the fastest way to multiply huge numbers
A new theoretical method for multiplying enormous figures appears to achieve a speed first predicted decades ago.
- Animals
Cats recognize their own names
A new study suggests that cats can tell their names apart from other spoken words.
- Astronomy
This planetary remnant somehow survived the death of its sun
A small, sturdy piece of planet survived the collapse of its sun and now orbits the dead star.
- Life
How emus and ostriches lost the ability to fly
Changes in regulatory DNA, rather than mutations to genes themselves, grounded some birds, a study finds.
- Paleontology
Peruvian fossils yield a four-legged otterlike whale with hooves
A newly discovered species of ancient whale unearthed in Peru split time between land and sea.
- Earth
How deadly, fast-moving flows of volcanic rock and gas cheat friction
Mixtures of hot volcanic rock and gas called pyroclastic flows travel so far by gliding on air, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
A common food additive may make the flu vaccine less effective
A food preservative may impair the ability to fight the flu, a study in mice suggests.
- Science & Society
Why some low-income neighborhoods are better than others
Levels of violence, incarceration and lead exposure in a neighborhood can predict a low-income child’s future earnings and outcome, a study suggests.
- Anthropology
A new hominid species has been found in a Philippine cave, fossils suggest
Cave fossils found in the Philippines come from a newly discovered member of the human lineage, researchers say.
- Health & Medicine
NASA’s Twins Study reveals effects of space on Scott Kelly’s health
Ten research groups studying the twin astronauts found long-term spaceflight can alter a person’s physiology and gene activity.
- Materials Science
A new graphene foam stays squishy at the coldest temperatures
Researchers have now made a material that is superelastic even at extremely cold temperatures, which could be helpful in space.
- Health & Medicine
People with stress disorders like PTSD are at higher risk of heart disease
Those coping with psychological trauma have a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, a large-scale study that goes beyond men and veterans finds.
- Archaeology
Newly translated Cherokee cave writings reveal sacred messages
Cherokee inscriptions highlight the tribe’s rituals nearly 200 years ago in what’s now a tourist cave in Alabama.
- Genetics
Some people may have genes that hamper a drug’s HIV protection
Newly discovered genetic variants could explain why an anti-HIV medication doesn’t protect everyone.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s moon Titan sports phantom hydrocarbon lakes
Three lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan have pulled a vanishing act, a study finds.
- Climate
Tiny microplastics travel far on the wind
Airborne bits of plastic that originated in cities ended up in pristine mountains at least 95 kilometers away, a study finds.
- Planetary Science
Meteor showers dig up water on the moon
Meteorites release water from the moon’s soil, hinting that the moon has water buried all across its surface.
- Genetics
A genetic scorecard could predict your risk of being obese
A genetic score predicts who is at risk of severe obesity, but experts say lifestyle matters more than genes.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists tried to transplant part of a human eye
In 1969, a doctor tried and failed to restore a 54-year-old man’s vision. Fifty years later, scientists are still struggling to make eye transplants work.
