News in Brief
- Planetary Science
Mercury has a massive solid inner core
The distribution of Mercury’s mass and small stutters in the planet’s spin suggest it has a giant solid inner core.
- Archaeology
Ancient sculptors made magnetic figures from rocks struck by lightning
Carved ‘potbelly’ stone sculptures suggest people in what’s now Guatemala knew about magnetism more than 2,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
‘Added sugar’ food labels may prevent heart disease and diabetes
Nutrition labeling changes that highlight sugar added to food or drink may have large benefits for public health, researchers say.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Genetics
How chemical exposure early in life is ‘like a ticking time bomb’
Some early life experiences can affect health, but only if unmasked by events in adulthood.
- Planetary Science
Israel’s first moon mission lost moments before landing
The spacecraft’s engine cut out just before it was to touch down in the Sea of Serenity.
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
When an older person’s brain waves are in sync, memory is boosted
A brain stimulation treatment that nudges older people’s brain waves into sync could lead to noninvasive therapies for dementia and other disorders.
- 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.
