Tech
‘Virtual Unreality’ chronicles dangers of digital deception
Journalist Charles Seife documents how the lies and misinformation that riddle the Internet are harming the real world.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Astronomy
Subatomic particles give glimpse into sun’s core
For the first time, a subterranean detector has captured neutrinos generated in the main nuclear reactions that power the sun.
Notebook
Tech
Robots start flat, then pop into shape and crawl
The machines use heated hinges to transform into shape and crawl around.
Features
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Simple rules can ease complex financial decisions
Straightforward strategies, known as heuristics, can be indispensable tools for keeping credit card debt in check as well as for making complex business decisions.
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Ancient famine-fighting genes can’t explain obesity
Scientists question the long-standing notion that adaptation — specifically the evolution of genes that encourage humans to hold on to fat so they can survive times of famine — has driven the obesity crisis.
More Stories from the September 20, 2014 issue
- Neuroscience
Part of brain’s pleasure network curbed in mice with chronic pain
Part of brain’s pleasure network is muffled in mice with chronic paw injuries, a new study finds.
- Astronomy
Gamma rays streaming from stellar explosions stump astronomers
The Fermi satellite detected gamma rays coming from an unexpected source — and astronomers don’t understand what made that possible.
- Genetics
Debate rages over mouse studies’ relevance to humans
Last year, researchers said rodents are not good mimics of human inflammation; a new study says the reverse.
- Oceans
Mercury at ocean surface may have tripled since preindustrial times
Questions remain over dangers of toxic metal in environment.
- Neuroscience
Prosthesis uses swinging arms to tell legs when to step
Device creates artificial neural connection that could help paralyzed people walk.
- Neuroscience
Busy neurons don’t always draw blood
Study of mice suggests caution in inferring the activity of the brain’s neurons from functional MRI results.
- Health & Medicine
Inflammation-blocking cells might fight often-fatal sepsis
Treatment saved young and old mice from overactive immune response to infection.
- Humans
Antibiotics in infancy may cause obesity in adults
By altering the microbiome of infant mice, drugs predisposed the animals to gain fat as adults.
- Astronomy
Dust nabbed by spacecraft may be from outside the solar system
NASA’s Stardust mission captured seven particles that probably come from interstellar space, providing researchers with the first direct samples from beyond the solar system.
- Anthropology
Origins of Egyptian mummy making may predate pyramids
Preservative mixture for mummy wrapping found on linens that covered the dead as early as 6,300 years ago.
- Anthropology
Earlier dates for Neandertal extinction cause a fuss
Revised dates suggest Neandertals coexisted with modern humans for several thousand years in Europe before disappearing 40,000 years ago.
- Genetics
Long before Columbus, seals brought tuberculosis to South America
Evidence from the skeletons of ancient Peruvians shows that seals may have brought tuberculosis across an ocean from Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental drugs and vaccines poised to take on Ebola
The use of experimental drugs and vaccines against Ebola may turn the tide against an outbreak in Africa that has defied efforts to control it.
- Ecosystems
Lake under Antarctic ice bursts with life
Abundant microbes thrive in subglacial lakes deep under the Antarctic ice sheet.
- Climate
Multiple oceans may help stall global warming
The Atlantic and Southern oceans, not the Pacific, may be largely to blame for the recent pause in rising global temperatures.
- Materials Science
Magnets get flipped by light
Controlling magnetism with lasers could lead to faster computer hard drives.
- Animals
Antarctic midge sports tiniest insect genome
Antarctic midge‘s genetic minimalism achieved by skipping a lot of repetitive stretches.
- Anthropology
Richard III ate like a king before biting the dust
King Richard III’s brief reign included a sudden shift to eating fancy food and drink.
- Animals
Corals, fish know bad reefs by their whiff
Compounds drifting off certain overgrown seaweeds discourage young corals and fish from settling in failing reefs.
- Quantum Physics
Blind quantum camera snaps photos of Schrödinger’s cat
Quantum weirdness lets physicists snap photo without collecting incoming light from cardboard cat subject.
- Genetics
Ebola genome clarifies origins of West African outbreak
Genetic analyses suggest that a single infected person sparked the ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
- Tech
Space tourism’s price tag rockets upward
The “high price” of space tourism proposed in the 1960s is nowhere close to the astronomical price tag of trips today.
- Genetics
Molecular biologist honors ancient bones
After deciphering an ancient skeleton’s genetic secrets, molecular biologist Sarah Anzick helped reinter the remains.
- Paleontology
‘Dinosaur 13’ details custody battle for largest T. rex
Documentary details nasty custody battle over the dinosaur nicknamed Sue, the largest T. rex skeleton ever found.
