Genetics
What genetic tests from 23andMe, Veritas and Genos really told me about my health
A Science News reporter tried out three consumer genetic testing companies to see what people really learn about their health.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Meet the speedsters of the plant world
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Science & Society
Closing the gender gap in some science fields may take over 100 years
In some STEM fields, the gender gap won’t disappear for decades or even centuries, a new study suggests.
Notebook
Animals
50 years ago, scientists warned of a sparrow’s extinction
Only 17 dusky seaside sparrows remained in 1968. Today, there are none.
Features
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Consumer DNA testing promises more than it delivers
Chances are your DNA doesn’t contain dark secrets. But there may be lots of variety in results from testing company to company.
More Stories from the May 26, 2018 issue
- Anthropology
A hole in an ancient cow’s skull could have been surgery practice
Before performing skull operations on people, ancient surgeons may have rehearsed on cows.
- Plants
Genetically modified plant may boost supply of a powerful malaria drug
Using a DNA study and genetic engineering, researchers tripled the amount of an antimalarial compound naturally produced by sweet wormwood plants.
- Planetary Science
Asteroids could have delivered water to the early Earth
Shooting mineral pellets at a simulated planet suggests an impact wouldn’t have boiled all of an asteroid’s water away.
- Psychology
In China, coffee shop habits show cultural differences tied to farming
Farming histories have shaped behavior in northern and southern China.
- Astronomy
The latest star map from the Gaia spacecraft plots 1.7 billion stars
The Gaia spacecraft’s latest data release brings the number of stars with precisely measured motions up from 2 million to more than 1.3 billion.
- Archaeology
Footprints prove humans hunted giant sloths during the Ice Age
Footprints of humans and giant sloths show a dramatic chase sequence from more than 10,000 years ago.
- Environment
This plastic can be recycled over and over and over again
A new kind of polymer is fully recyclable: It breaks down into the exact same molecules that it came from.
- Earth
Pumping water underground for power may have triggered South Korean quake
A 2017 South Korean earthquake may have been caused by human activities, two new studies suggest.
- Planetary Science
Last year’s solar eclipse set off a wave in the upper atmosphere
The August 2017 solar eclipse launched a wave in the upper atmosphere that was detected from Brazil after the eclipse ended.
- Physics
Neutron stars shed neutrinos to cool down quickly
Scientists find the first clear evidence of rapid cooling of a neutron star by neutrino emission.
- Animals
Defenseless moths do flying impressions of scary bees and wasps
Faking that erratic bee flight or no-nonsense wasp zoom might save a moth’s life.
- Climate
Bull sharks and bottlenose dolphins are moving north as the ocean warms
Rising temperatures are making ocean waters farther north more hospitable for a variety of marine species.
- Animals
This ancient fowl bit like a dinosaur and pecked like a bird
A new fossil of Ichthyornis dispar helped scientists create a 3-D reconstruction of the ancient bird’s skull, shedding light on early bird evolution.
- Planetary Science
NASA gets ready to launch the first lander to investigate Mars’ insides
The InSight lander is launching to Mars on May 5 and is expected to be in position to sense seismic activity by early 2019.
- Health & Medicine
FDA approves the first smallpox treatment
Concerns about bioterrorism fueled the development of the first treatment for smallpox.
- Health & Medicine
An enzyme involved in cancer and aging gets a close-up
The structure of telomerase, described with the greatest detail yet, may give researchers clues to cancer treatments and other telomerase-related illnesses.
- Animals
With a little convincing, rats can detect tuberculosis
TB-sniffing rats prove more accurate in detecting infection, especially in children, than the most commonly used diagnostic tool.
