News in Brief
- Planetary Science
Saturn moon’s geysers draw water from subsurface sea
More than six years of Cassini data indicate that the water jets on the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus connect to deep-ocean reservoirs via expanding cracks in surface ice.
- Psychology
Goalkeepers deceive themselves when facing penalty kicks
Soccer’s goalies fall victim to a logical fallacy during the sport’s most high-pressure situation, seeing trends where none exists.
- Neuroscience
Study linking narcolepsy to autoimmunity retracted
Data linking disorder to immune cells couldn’t be replicated, scientists say.
- Environment
Recycled water may flood urban parks with dangerous germs
Irrigating city parks with recycled water may flood the soil with drug-resistant microbes.
- Tech
With two robotic fingers, humans get a helping hand
Mechanical fingers grasp like the real thing.
- Environment
Wild monkeys near Fukushima have low blood cell counts
Primates near the ill-fated nuclear power plant may have been affected by radiation.
- Planetary Science
Comet ISON fell apart earlier than realized
Comet ISON disintegrated at least eight hours before it grazed the surface of the sun last fall, new observations show.
- Climate
Cell phone towers monitor African rains
Scientists used cell phone towers to monitor African rains, a method that could track weather in regions without robust meteorological infrastructure.
- Anthropology
Romanian cave holds some of the oldest human footprints
A group of Homo sapiens left footprints about 36,500 years ago, not 15,000 as scientists had thought.
- Physics
Diamonds under pressure impersonate exoplanet cores
Scientists use lasers at the National Ignition Facility to squeeze diamonds to the extreme pressures found inside massive exoplanets.
- Neuroscience
Heavy marijuana use may affect dopamine response
People who regularly smoke five joints a day had dampened reactions to the chemical messenger dopamine.
- Climate
Windblown dust may muck up regional climate predictions
Climate simulations don’t accurately portray the behavior of windblown dust, which may result in inaccurate regional forecasts.
