Animals
A new book shows how animals are already coping with climate change
‘Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid’ takes a clear-eyed look at future of animal life.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Can psychedelics meet their potential for treating mental health disorders?
Psychedelics hold lots of promise as treatments for mental health disorders like PTSD and depression. But the drugs still face hurdles.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Neuroscience
Brainless sponges contain early echoes of a nervous system
Simple sponges contain cells that appear to send signals to digestive chambers, a communication system that offer hints about how brains evolved.
Notebook
Paleontology
Some dinosaurs may have lived in herds as early as 193 million years ago
A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus may be the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinosaurs.
Features
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A sailor’s story captures the impact of rising serious fungal infections
Fungal infections are hard to diagnose, hard to treat and are on the rise. A young sailor is staying positive to navigate the challenges.
More Stories from the December 4, 2021 issue
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50 years ago, a 6-year-old boy became the first known rabies survivor
In 1971, a doctor thought he’d found a cure for rabies. Fifty years later, we still don’t have one.
- Materials Science
Lithium-ion batteries made with recycled materials can outlast newer counterparts
Batteries with recycled cathodes outperformed batteries with new cathodes, lasting for thousands more charging cycles before their capacity waned.
- Genetics
DNA from mysterious Asian mummies reveals their surprising ancestry
Ancient DNA indicates that an enigmatic Bronze Age group consisted of genetic, but not cultural, loners.
- Health & Medicine
How to choose a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot
To help you choose between the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 boosters, one reporter looked to the evidence and consulted experts.
- Earth
A mineral found in a diamond’s flaws contains the source of some of Earth’s heat
A mineral theorized to exist in the mantle was found hiding in a diamond. Dubbed davemaoite, it could explain where some of Earth’s heat comes from.
- Astronomy
Distant rocky planets may have exotic chemical makeups that don’t resemble Earth’s
Elements sprinkled on white dwarf stars suggest that the mantles of faraway rocky worlds differ greatly from their counterparts in our solar system.
- Space
Here’s what the next 10 years of space science could look like
In the latest Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, astronomers have their sights set on a whole fleet of next-generation space telescopes.
- Animals
Baleen whales eat (and poop) a lot more than we realized
The sheer volume of food that some whales eat and then excrete suggests the animals shape ecosystems to a much larger degree than previously thought.
- Math
An elusive equation describing bird eggs of all shapes has been found at last
A new mathematical equation describes bird eggs of all shapes found in nature, and it could have applications in food and agricultural research.
- Paleontology
‘Penis worms’ may have been the original hermits
Soft-bodied critters called penis worms inhabited abandoned shells — a la modern-day hermit crabs — by about 500 million years ago, a study suggests.
- Animals
Assassin bugs tap spiders to distract them before a lethal strike
Some assassin bugs stroke their antennae on spiders when within striking distance, possibly imitating touches that spiders experience near their kin.
- Life
Some songbirds now migrate east to west. Climate change may play a role
In recent decades, more Richard's pipits are wintering in Europe than before. It may signal the establishment of a totally new migration route.
- Life
Gene-edited stem cells help geckos regrow more perfect tails
Regenerated gecko tails are a far cry from perfect. Now experiments have coaxed geckos to regrow better ones with nerve tissue and bonelike cartilage.
- Anthropology
A child’s partial skull adds to the mystery of how Homo naledi treated the dead
The isolated discovery of a Homo naledi child’s skull fragments and teeth plays into idea that small-brained species ritually placed the dead in caves.
- Physics
Neutron star collisions probably make more gold than other cosmic smashups
Smashups of two neutron stars produce more heavy elements than when a black hole swallows a neutron star, calculations suggest.
- Space
A rush to watch a supernova exposed its last gasp before exploding
By studying the final years of stars, scientists hope to find clues to help them recognize when other stars are about to blow.
