Chemistry
Every breath you take contains a molecule of history
In 'Caesar’s Last Breath', best-selling author Sam Kean tells vivid stories about the gases we can’t see.
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Cover Story
DNA evidence is rewriting domestication origin stories
DNA studies are rewriting the how-we-met stories of domestication.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
Big slimy lips are the secret to this fish’s coral diet
A new imaging study reveals how tubelip wrasses manage to munch on stinging corals.
Notebook
Ecosystems
Earth’s dry zones support a surprising number of trees
A Google Earth-based estimate of dryland forests adds serious leafage to Earth’s total tree count.
Features
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Quantum computers are about to get real
Qubit-based machines are gearing up to solve problems that are out of reach for even the most powerful supercomputers.
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How humans (maybe) domesticated themselves
Prior to taming other species, humans selected for more docile traits among fellow Homo sapiens, a slew of recent studies suggest.
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A quarter century ago, the qubit was born
The invention of the qubit a quarter century ago enabled the quantum information revolution.
More Stories from the July 8, 2017 issue
- Animals
Seabirds use preening to decide how to divvy up parenting duties
Seabirds in poor condition may communicate this information to their partner by delaying or withholding preening.
- Neuroscience
Brains encode faces piece by piece
Cells in monkey brains build up faces by coding for different characteristics.
- Health & Medicine
When preventing HIV, bacteria in the vagina matter
Vaginal bacteria affect how well microbicide gels used to prevent HIV work.
- Life
When it comes to the flu, the nose has a long memory
Mice noses have specialty immune cells with long memories.
- Health & Medicine
Choosing white or whole-grain bread may depend on what lives in your gut
Gut microbes determine how people’s blood sugar levels respond to breads.
- Astronomy
Einstein’s light-bending by single far-off star detected
A measurement so precise Einstein thought it couldn't be done has demonstrated his most famous theory on a star outside the solar system for the first time.
- Climate
Climate change might help pests resist corn’s genetic weapon
Rising temperatures may allow pests to eat corn that is genetically modified to produce an insect-killing toxin.
- Health & Medicine
Therapy flags DNA typos to rev cancer-fighting T cells
Genetic tests help identify cancer patients who will benefit from immune therapy.
- Physics
Faux particles commit physics faux pas
Quasiparticles present in a solid material break the rules of particle physics.
- Physics
Water circling a drain provides insight into black holes
Water waves scattering off a vortex can exhibit rotational superradiance, an effect predicted to appear in black holes.
- Planetary Science
Jupiter’s precocious birth happened in the solar system’s first million years
Jupiter formed within the first million years of the solar system, according to meteorite measurements.
- Health & Medicine
New kind of ‘tan in a bottle’ may one day protect against skin cancer
A drug for activating melanin production without using ultraviolet radiation works in human skin samples.
- Life
Ancient DNA shakes up the elephant family tree
DNA from straight-tusked elephant fossils is forcing scientists to reconsider the history of elephant evolution.
- Earth
Magma stored under volcanoes is mostly solid
Ancient zircon crystals provide clues about the magma that fuels volcanic eruptions.
- Health & Medicine
Bones make hormones that communicate with the brain and other organs
Bones send out hormone signals that chat with other parts of the body, studies in mice show. What influence these hormones have in people, though, remain a mystery.
- Animals
The blue wings of this dragonfly may be surprisingly alive
The wings of adult morpho dragonflies show tiny respiratory channels that may support a complex of nanostructures that shine blue.
- Physics
50 years ago, a millionth of a degree above absolute zero seemed cold
Today, scientists have reached temperatures less than a billionth of a degree above absolute zero.
- Animals
This glass frog wears its heart for all to see
A newly discovered glass frog species has skin so clear that it reveals most of the animal’s internal organs, including the heart.
