ON THE SCENE BLOG The man at the rover lab’s helm talks to Science News. See “A lifetime of curiosity: An interview with JPL director Charles Elachi.” LIFE An unusually well-preserved fossil suggests dino ancestors were fluffy. Read “All dinosaurs may have had feathers.” HUMANS DNA tracks Jewish migrations out of the Middle East. See “North African Diaspora written in genes.” SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG Scientists debate a possible melanoma outbreak among coral trout in “Epidemic of skin lesions reported in reef fish.” (p. 4)

DELETED SCENES BLOG The Higgs boson deserves all the hype it has received — and then some. Read about the particle’s hidden talents in “Higgs hysteria.” Two new studies support the idea that an odd microbe cannot swap arsenic for phosphorus. Read “Arsenic-based life gets even more toxic.” LIFE Scientists electronically tag ants (below) to watch the insects’ foraging strategies. Read “Skinny searchers keep fat ants full.” ATOM & COSMOS A new lithium source won’t help researchers find more of it. See “Black hole theory deepens lithium crisis.” (p. 4)

DELETED SCENES BLOG The Higgs boson discovery leaked a day early when SN found a CERN video announcement. See “CMS spokesman: ‘We’ve observed a new particle.’ ” SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG Huddling together during hibernation puts bats at risk for disease. See “Warning to bats: Cuddle not.” HUMANS The earliest signs of people drinking cattle milk show up in 7,000-year-old pottery. See “Ancient North Africans got milk.” BODY & BRAIN A study in Oregon finds growing gaps in childhood immunization schedules. Read “More adults put off kids’ vaccinations.�... (p. 4)

ENVIRONMENT Snow layers warm northern soils, reducing how much climate-warming carbon the ground can hold. See “Arctic’s wintry blanket can be warming.” ON THE SCENE BLOG A Science News editor visits Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull in “Icelandic volcanoes slumber today, but not forever.” GENES & CELLS Sirtuin proteins, associated with longer life spans, also help sync the body’s circadian clock. See more in “Antiaging protein helps set daily rhythms.” BODY & BRAIN Untreated fevers during gestation may double the risk of having a child with autism. See “Fe... (p. 4)

SCIENCE & SOCIETY Science knowledge tends to bolster existing views. See “Climate skepticism not rooted in science illiteracy.” ENVIRONMENT Irrigation may be responsible for a third of today’s sea-level rise. Learn more in “Pumping groundwater raises sea level.” HUMANS People all use similar language rules to label kin. Read “Family labels framed similarly across cultures.” An ancient culture dries out in “Harappans may have lived, died by monsoon.” (p. 4)

BODY & BRAIN A new strategy boosts insulin production in mice. Read “Procedure offers hope in type 1 diabetes.” SCIENCE & SOCIETY A 17-year-old shows off his homemade nuclear fusion reactor (below) at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. See “At ISEF, fusion is hot.” MATTER & ENERGY The Leidenfrost effect allows physicists to control liquid oxygen’s movement. See “Dancing droplets reveal physics at work.” GENES & CELLS Scientists use DNA signatures to predict disease in “Schizophrenia’s core genetic features proposed.” (p. 4)

HUMANS Learn what confidence means for group decision-making strategies in “Two heads sometimes better than one.” MATTER & ENERGY A structural change in spider silk (below) makes it strong enough to string a violin. Read “Scientist fiddles with spider silk.” BODY & BRAIN A physician describes controversial anatomical evidence for a fabled female erogenous zone. See “Pinpointing the G-spot, or not.” New drugs tone down production of an immune protein to fight a skin disease. Read “Psoriasis drugs show promise.” (p. 4)

LIFE A study documents homicide among chimps. Read “Chimps show lethal side.” ATOM & COSMOS Cameras spy a Martian dust devil in “Tall, devilish storm skids across Mars’ surface.” DELETED SCENES BLOG For two astrophysics studies, negative results were meaningful. See “A result of zero doesn’t always mean zero results.” A dairy cow with a rare form of prion disease is probably not a threat to people. Read “California mad cow case no reason for panic.” (p. 4)

EARTH Horizontal motion makes a magnitude 8.6 quake less dangerous. Learn more in “Indonesian quake passes without major tsunami.” DELETED SCENES BLOG A video game puts birds into orbit. Read “The Newtonian physics (or not) of Angry Birds Space.” GENES & CELLS Altering gene activity may make chemotherapy more effective. See “Old cancer drugs offer new tricks.” SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG Recent U.S. record warmth was not shared globally. Read “March: American heat vs. global temps.” (p. 4)

SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG A court orders FDA hearings on livestock drugs. See “Growth-promoting antibiotics: On the way out?” LIFE A birdlike dinosaur (illustrated below) was iridescent. Read “Microraptor’s true blue colors.” ENVIRONMENT Deep corals were harmed by the BP spill. Learn more in “The farther the better for corals after oil spill.” BODY & BRAIN The Epstein-Barr virus may both suppress and promote lymphoma. See “Tracking the viral link to lymphoma.” (p. 4)