News in Brief
- Astronomy
Largest rocky world found
A planet roughly half the size of Neptune might be 100 percent rock, making it the largest known rocky world.
- Genetics
DNA may determine if you’re an early bird or night owl
Morning people are more likely to have certain variations in their DNA, but less likely to have insomnia or sleep apnea.
- Tech
Machine triumphs in strategy game
For the first time, a computer has beat a professional human player in the strategy game Go.
- Animals
Tegu lizards warm up for mating
Despite their cold-blooded reputation, tegu lizards boost their body heat while on the prowl for a mate, biologists report online January 22 in Science Advances.
- Life
MicroRNAs manage gut microbes
MicroRNAs mold gut microbes into healthier communities for the host.
- Oceans
Ocean heating doubles
Earth’s oceans now absorb twice as much heat as they did 18 years ago, with more than a third of that warmth going into the ocean depths.
- Genetics
Bubonic plague hung out in Europe
The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis may have lurked in a medieval European reservoir for at least 300 years, researchers from Germany suggest January 13 in PLOS ONE.
- Genetics
Drug candidate fails to improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome
A drug designed to treat fragile X syndrome has proven ineffective in clinical trials.
- Astronomy
Newfound gas cloud may be graveyard of first stars
A 12-billion-year-old gas cloud, rich in hydrogen and helium but nothing else, may house the remains of the universe’s first stars.
- Physics
More details on Stephen Hawking’s solution to black hole problem
Stephen Hawking and colleagues have finally provided more information about how black holes might preserve information.
- Animals
Small lizard packs powerful tongue
A tiny chameleon from South Africa sets an acceleration and power record for amniotes.
- Archaeology
Roman toilets didn’t flush parasites
Roman sanitation measures did little to dent parasite numbers, a study finds.
