News in Brief

  1. Genetics

    CRISPR used in cows to help fight tuberculosis

    Chinese researchers used a CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editor to make cows more resistant to tuberculosis.

    By Helen Thompson
  2. Archaeology

    Cow carved in stone paints picture of Europe’s early human culture

    Stone Age engraving helps to illuminate European travels of an ancient human culture.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. Oceans

    Cone snails wander in circles, lose focus with boosted CO2

    Deadly cone snails wander in circles and become less capable hunters when exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide in seawater.

    By Elizabeth Eaton
  4. Cosmology

    New data fuel debate on universe’s expansion rate

    Quasar observations add to discrepancy in measurements of the universe’s expansion speed.

    By Emily Conover
  5. Astronomy

    Five gamma-ray blazars set new distance record

    Intensely bright galaxies are the farthest blazars ever detected in gamma rays.

    By Emily Conover
  6. Tech

    Bat robot takes wing

    Unlike other aerial robots that use whirling rotor blades to fly, the Bat Bot relies on soft, silicone-based wings to glide, swoop and turn.

    By Meghan Rosen
  7. Earth

    3-billion-year-old crystals hint at lost continent’s fate

    Zircon crystals from a long-gone continent called Mauritia may have resurfaced during volcanic eruptions on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

    By Thomas Sumner
  8. Astronomy

    Spin may reveal black hole history

    High rate of spin could indicate that black holes formed from previous mergers of black holes.

    By Emily Conover
  9. Planetary Science

    Oxygen atoms from Earth bombard the moon

    Oxygen atoms originating from the upper atmosphere periodically bombard the moon’s surface, researchers propose.

    By Thomas Sumner
  10. Tech

    Legos inspire versatile fluid-filled devices

    Tiny devices shuttle fluid around using reconfigurable Lego-like bricks.

    By Emily Conover
  11. Paleontology

    Ancient giant otter unearthed in China

    Fossils unearthed in China reveal a newly discovered, now-extinct species of otter that lived some 6.2 million years ago.

    By Meghan Rosen
  12. Life

    Asteroid barrage, ancient marine life boom not linked

    Impacts from asteroid debris probably didn’t trigger the boom in marine animal diversity around 471 million years ago during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.

    By Thomas Sumner