News in Brief

  1. Animals

    Noise may disrupt a bat’s dinner

    Mechanical cacophony can drown out the whispers of moving insect prey.

    By Susan Milius
  2. Neuroscience

    One sleepless night weakens resolve in the face of doughnuts

    Sleep loss changes brain activity and food preferences.

    By Laura Sanders
  3. Health & Medicine

    Space-mapping neurons found in human brain

    Grid cells may orient people in Euclidean space.

    By Laura Sanders
  4. Tech

    Bandage-like patch dissolves to deliver medicine to skin

    Flexible material gets drugs or vaccines into body painlessly.

    By Meghan Rosen
  5. Animals

    Spider’s personality matters when job hunting

    Boldest individuals of social species tasked with seeking out prey.

    By Meghan Rosen
  6. Earth

    Magma can speed to the surface, powering volcanoes

    Fast ascent of molten rock could help scientists predict eruptions.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  7. Planetary Science

    Saturn’s tides drive icy moon’s plumes

    Enceladus' chilly jets ebb and flow in time with its planet's tug.

    By Jessica Shugart
  8. Life

    Tigers meet, mix in forest corridors

    In India, narrow strips of wild land connect small groups of cats.

    By Laura Sanders
  9. Anthropology

    Mummified Incan teen drank, did drugs

    Girl, who was sacrificed, may have been sedated by alcohol, coca leaves.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  10. Climate

    Wetter permafrost clings to carbon better

    In 12-year lab study, moist soil samples released less greenhouse gas as they warmed.

    By Erin Wayman
  11. Planetary Science

    Cassini photo puts Earth in perspective

    Probe captures planet from 1.4 billion kilometers away.

    By Andrew Grant
  12. Space

    Mars meteorite reveals its age

    Long difficult to estimate, date of space rocks' formation emerges with new technique.

    By Andrew Grant