Animals would prove fierce competitors at the Olympics — if only they would stay in their lanes.

Quantum encryption is here, but the laws of physics can do much more than protect privacy. (p. 24)

Misfolded, clumping proteins evade conviction, but they remain prime suspects in neurodegenerative diseases.

Under the influence of an external magnetic field, tiny magnets act as highly localized space heaters, warming to temperatures that kill adjacent cancer cells. (p. 5)

The length of bonds connecting water molecules could demonstrate quantum effects and help explain some of water’s weirdness.

Electron microscopes can now image single atoms of hydrogen.

Scientists have known for ages that metabolism is tied to the body’s daily rhythms. Two new studies suggest how.

People on either a low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet fared better over two years than those on a low-fat diet.

Helicobacter pylori, a common microbe that colonizes the stomach, might protect against asthma.

Viagra eases some sexual problems for women taking antidepressants

A gene variant explains why some people get muscle pains from cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. (p. 9)

Pathogens hitchhike on commercial bees that escape from greenhouses. These escapees bring disease to wild bumblebees.

Fruit fly experiments shed light on animals’ use of Earth’s magnetic field for orientation and navigation.

A study of snake embryos suggests that fangs evolved once, then moved around in the head to give today’s snakes a variety of bites.

The parasitic vine known as dodder really sucks. It pierces the tissue of other plants — some of which are important crops — extracting water and nutrients needed for its own growth. But it also consumes molecules that scientists could manipulate to bring on the parasite’s demise.

In new studies, toddlers display dramatic advances in object recognition that may underlie verbal and symbolic achievements. (p. 12)

Number words may serve as mental tools for expanding on basic, nonverbal numerical knowledge rather than as determinants of such knowledge.