Earth
Pioneering geologist sought to demystify volcanic eruptions
In The Last Volcano, a geologist profiles Thomas Jaggar, one of the 20th century’s most influential volcanologists.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Planetary Science
A defenseless Mars is losing its atmosphere
Measurements of Mars’ atmosphere leaking into space could help scientists explain how the Red Planet lost its once life-friendly climate.
Notebook
Earth
Parched parts of Earth expanding
More drylands, largely impacting developing nations, are forecasted for near future.
Features
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Gene drives spread their wings
Gene drives may wipe out malaria and take down invasive species. But they may be difficult to control.
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Can DNA predict a face?
DNA-based facial sketches are moving into the crime-solving arena. With current science, predictions of some features are better than others.
More Stories from the December 12, 2015 issue
- Neuroscience
Brain’s GPS cells map time and distance, not just location
Brain’s GPS cells map time and distance, too.
- Health & Medicine
Parasite gives a man cancer
Tapeworms can kick parasitism up a notch to become cancer, a case in Colombia shows.
- Life
Gene editing helps a baby battle cancer
Doctors used molecular scalpels to tweak T cells to target leukemia but not harm the patient.
- Health & Medicine
Simple steps can offer health benefits
Studies find that even small changes in eating habits and movement can lower risk of heart disease.
- Planetary Science
Pluto continues to deliver surprises
Ice volcanoes, young landscapes and twirling moons are just a few more surprises from Pluto.
- Archaeology
Honeybees sweetened early farmers’ lives
Residue on pottery pegs ancient farmers as devotees of honeybee products.
- Planetary Science
Phobos starting to crack under pressure
Grooves that wrap around Phobos show that the Martian moon is starting to crack from stress.
- Health & Medicine
Cardiac risks rise for linemen during football season
Linemen on a football team face raised cardiac risk over the course of a season, a study of college players shows.
- Health & Medicine
Signs of cardiac disease start early in obese children
Worrisome changes to the heart that are associated with obesity can appear in childhood, a new MRI study shows.
- Computing
New algorithm cracks graph problem
A new algorithm efficiently solves the graph isomorphism problem, which has puzzled computer scientists for decades.
- Earth
Earth’s water originated close to home, lava analysis suggests
Scarcity of a hydrogen isotope called deuterium in molten rock from Earth’s depths suggests that the planet’s H2O originated from water-logged dust during formation, not comets.
- Planetary Science
Mighty winds fuel megastorms on Titan
Saturn’s moon Titan might produce long-lasting storms squalls that flood the surface with liquid methane.
- Genetics
New catalog of human genetic variation could improve diagnosis
Study of human protein-coding variation reveals which genes are more likely to be involved in genetic diseases.
- Planetary Science
Two-stage process formed moon, simulations suggest
Certain elements absent from lunar samples but present on Earth might be hidden deep inside the moon, a relic from how it was put together.
- Animals
Inside the roaring sex lives of howler monkeys
Listening to the intense roars of howler monkeys in Mexico inspired scientists to decipher how and why calls differ among species.
- Archaeology
Search for fossils from the comfort of home
The citizen science website FossilFinder.org lets anyone with an Internet connection look for fossils and characterize rocks at Kenya’s Lake Turkana Basin
- Archaeology
Mystery still surrounds Neandertals
Neandertals’ relationship to modern humans is still a matter of debate.
- Astronomy
Super-Earths, meet superpuffs, a lighter weight class of planet
Superpuffs are underweight, oversized planets that formed in outskirts of star systems before cuddling up close to their sun.
- Animals
World’s smallest snail record broken again
Snails may not be speedy, but itty-bitty snail shells found in Borneo are breaking a size record at a breakneck pace.
- Planetary Science
Impact from a space rock may have helped shape Pluto’s heart
Pluto’s heart is deep basin, possibly caused by a run in with something else in the Kuiper belt.
- Plants
Ancient gardeners saved the gourd
Domestication might have helped early vine plants like pumpkin survive after seed-dispersing megafauna went extinct.
- Physics
Water droplets spontaneously bounce, sans trampoline
Initially stationary water droplets can bounce on an extremely water-repellent surface as if on a trampoline.
- Health & Medicine
Blood-brain barrier jiggled loose to deliver medicine
Using ultrasounds, doctors attempted to slip a chemotherapy drug into a woman’s brain through the blood-brain barrier.
- Anthropology
DNA puts Neandertal relatives in Siberia for 60,000 years
Recovered DNA suggests Denisovans inhabited Siberia for around 60,000 years.
- Health & Medicine
Study brews up more evidence for coffee’s health benefits
Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of dying early from heart and brain diseases and suicide.
