LIFE Cycads, often called "dinosaur plants," aren't so ancient after all. Read "Cycads not 'living fossils.' " HUMANS Ancient cooking pots show diets shifted slowly from fishing to agriculture. See "Early farmers' fishy menu." ON THE SCENE BLOG The Drake Equation for tallying alien life turns 50. See "The Drake Equation: All in the family," with a link for SN subscribers to a Q&A with Frank Drake. BODY & BRAIN Air pollution boosts blood pressure in at-risk groups. Read "A particulate threat to diabetes." (p. 4)

DELETED SCENES BLOG An orbiting camera catches dust devils whirling at high speeds on the Red Planet. Read “HiRISE clocks hurricane-speed winds on Mars.” ATOM & COSMOS Astronomers get a new odometer to measure faraway objects. See “Longer cosmic ruler based on black holes.” ENVIRONMENT A warming climate could be making elk more destructive to forests. Read “When snowpack shrinks, elk can binge on aspen.” Some kinds of pollen can precipitate more than allergies. See “Cloud seeding by trees could alter precipitation, climate.” (p. 4)

BODY & BRAIN ‘Normal’ B12 levels may not be enough for the brain. Read “B12 shortage linked to cognitive problems.” LIFE A penguin can find its kin even in a sea of black and white. See “Penguins may sniff out relatives.” ATOM & COSMOS A NASA probe has found bizarre landforms on the planet nearest the sun. Read more in “Messenger from Mercury.” HUMANS A teenager’s alcohol use is influenced by the friends of the teen’s boyfriend or girlfriend. See “Teen daters pal up to the bottle.” (p. 4)

ENVIRONMENT Plastics sloughed off clothing can pollute coastlines. See “Synthetic lint ends up in oceans.” Arctic sea ice this year was near its smallest extent on record. Read “Summer Arctic melt among worst ever.” GENES & CELLS Natural killer cells are caught in the act of feeding poison pills (below) to tumors. See “News in Brief: Genes & Cells.” (p. 4)

ATOM & COSMOS Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft has returned to Earth with the first-ever scrapings taken from an asteroid. Find out what the specks of dust reveal in “Asteroid sample nails meteorite source.” LIFE A young elephant shows off its ability to have an “aha” moment by finding a way to reach fruit just out of reach. Learn more and see a video of the problem solver in action in “Young elephant struck by idea.” HUMANS Human ancestors may have picked up genes that impart an immune system boost by canoodling with Neandertals and other hominid cousins long ago. Read mor... (p. 4)

SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG Space junk is lasting longer, making cleanup more urgent. See “Growing need for space trash collectors.” HUMANS A 2,000-year-old human skull shows signs of having undergone surgery. Read “Ancient Saharan head cases.”Instant messaging can’t replace the soothing sound of Mom’s voice. See “Moms talk, daughters’ hormones listen.” GENES & CELLS Breaking bonds between protein buddies may help prevent Parkinson’s. Learn more in “Parkinson’s protein comes in fours.” (p. 4)

SCIENCE & THE PUBLIC BLOG Smoke-exposed kids are more likely to have neuro-behavioral disorders. See "Young minds at risk from secondhand smoke." BODY & BRAIN At-risk newborns may avoid death and disability by cooling off. See "News in Brief: Body & Brain." Active neurons trigger changes that speed up signaling. Read "How exercise benefits nerve cells." ATOM & COSMOS The Milky Way may be in a midlife crisis. Read this story and others in "News in Brief: Atom & Cosmos." (p. 4)

ATOM & COSMOS NASA’s Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around the asteroid Vesta. Read “Dawn on Vesta.” MOLECULES Tasting fat gives rats the munchies. See “Fat stimulates binge eating.” BODY & BRAIN Armor-clad knights use about twice as much energy to move as non-armored fighters. Read this tale and others in “News in Brief: Body & Brain.” GENES & CELLS Researchers debate genes’ role in autism disorders. See “Environment blamed for autism.” (p. 4)

BODY & BRAIN Infants may learn speech sounds as they snooze. Read “Sleeping babies learn in an eyeblink.” LIFE Researchers find a natural screwlike joint — in a beetle’s hip. See “Weevils evolved nut-and-screw joint.” MATTER & ENERGY An acoustic cloak made of metamaterials reflects sound off a bump as though it were a flat wall. Read “You haven’t heard it all.” (p. 4)

ATOM & COSMOS Researchers finally detect muon neutrinos switching to electron neutrinos, plus more updates in “News in Brief: Atom & Cosmos.” GENES & CELLS Triggering sleep in fruit fly brains turns the bugs’ short-term memories into long-lived ones. Read “From Z’s to A’s.” LIFE Male cleaner fish punish females when they scare big clients away (two cleaners and their client shown).  Go to “News in Brief: Life.” EARTH Japan’s monster wave also sent glowing air ripples over Hawaii. Read “Tsunami lit up the heavens.” (p. 4)