News in Brief
- Animals
Tiny structures in dragonfish teeth turn them into invisible daggers
The teeth of deep-sea dragonfish are transparent because of nanoscale crystals and rods that let light pass through without being scattered.
- Environment
How one fern hoards toxic arsenic in its fronds and doesn’t die
To survive high levels of arsenic, a fern sequesters the heavy metal in its shoots with the help of three proteins.
- Physics
This tabletop device turns the quantum definition of a kilogram into a real mass
The mini Kibble balance will measure 10 grams to an accuracy of a few ten-thousandths of a percent.
- Climate
Thousands of birds perished in the Bering Sea. Arctic warming may be to blame
A mass die-off of puffins and other seabirds in the Bering Sea is probably linked to climate change, scientists say.
- Archaeology
Cave debris may be the oldest known example of people eating starch
Charred material found in South Africa puts energy-rich roots and tubers on Stone Age menus, long before farming began.
- Paleontology
Fossils reveal saber-toothed cats may have pierced rivals’ skulls
Two Smilodon fossil skulls from Argentina have puncture holes likely left by the teeth of rival cats.
- Anthropology
Africa’s first herders spread pastoralism by mating with foragers
DNA unveils long-ago hookups between early pastoralists and native hunter-gatherers in Africa.
- Climate
Himalayan glacier melting threatens water security for millions of people
Asia’s glaciers are melting faster than they are accumulating new stores of snow and ice.
- Animals
A 50-million-year-old fossil captures a swimming school of fish
Analysis of a fossilized fish shoal suggests that animals may have evolved coordinated group movement around 50 million years ago.
- Earth
This iconic Humboldt map may need crucial updates
A seminal, 212-year-old diagram of Andean plants by German explorer Alexander von Humboldt is still groundbreaking — but outdated, researchers say.
- Physics
Spherical flames in space could solve the mystery of soot-free fires
In microgravity, flames are sphere-shaped. Tests of fire on the International Space Station are helping show how gases flow within flames.
- Chemistry
Sweaty, vinegary and sweet odors mingle to make dark chocolate’s smell
Scientists have worked out the chemistry of dark chocolate’s smell and reconstructed the aroma.
