Uncategorized

  1. Anthropology

    A stray molar is the oldest known fossil from an ancient gibbon

    A newly described tooth puts ancestors of these small-bodied apes in India roughly 13 million years ago.

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  2. Animals

    This hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing itself solid

    To survive cold Andean nights, the black metaltail saves energy by cooling itself to record-low temperatures, entering a state of suspended animation.

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  3. Animals

    Sea butterflies’ shells determine how the snails swim

    New aquarium videos show that sea butterflies of various shapes and sizes flutter through water differently.

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  4. Science & Society

    Creative school plans could counter inequities exposed by COVID-19

    Many K–12 schools this fall are virtual, which could widen the nation’s already large opportunity gaps. What are schools doing to reach all students?

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  5. Computing

    How next-gen computer generated maps detect partisan gerrymandering

    The U.S. census will trigger a new round of redistricting beginning in 2021. Researchers have developed numerous tests to identify gerrymandering.

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  6. Where do we draw the line between life and death?

    Editor in chief Nancy Shute writes about the challenges of defining brain death and the first GM mosquitoes in the United States.

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  7. Readers ask about neutrinos in the sun’s core, megaflashes and mussels

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  8. Ecosystems

    Protecting half the planet could help solve climate change and save species

    An analysis lays out where new land protections could complement existing protected areas to achieve various conservation and climate goals.

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  9. Life

    This parasitic plant eavesdrops on its host to know when to flower

    Dodder plants have no leaves to sense when to bloom, so the parasites rely on a chemical cue from their hosts instead.

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  10. Genetics

    Strict new guidelines lay out a path to heritable human gene editing

    But scientists say making changes in DNA that can be passed on to future generations still isn’t safe and effective, yet.

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  11. Space

    A weirdly warped planet-forming disk circles a distant trio of stars

    The bizarre geometry of a disk of gas and dust around three stars in the constellation Orion could be formed by “disk tearing” or a newborn planet.

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  12. Climate

    Bering Sea winter ice shrank to its lowest level in 5,500 years in 2018

    Peat cores that record five millennia of climate shifts in the Arctic region suggest recent ice loss is linked to rising carbon dioxide levels.

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