WHO ME? Bird scientists consider species like the greater prairie chicken to be promiscuous because the birds have no relationship with their sexual partners beyond copulation.
JackVandenHeuvel/iStockphoto
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Magazine
In the Aug. 4 SN: Money’s murky origins, computer programs expose fake news, one neutrino’s journey, early Texas toolmakers, electric fields cue spider flight, pregnant male sharks, baby planet pics and more.
SHARK STUDY A megalodon shark swims past a polycarbonate “cage” containing a biological oceanographer, played by Li Bingbing, in The Meg.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
LIGHTING THE DARK A feeble glare known as intracluster light traces the location of dark matter within galaxy clusters such as Abell S1063 (shown).
J. Lotz/STScl, ESA, NASA
GHOST GENE The ancestors of manatees and other marine mammals lost working versions of certain genes millions of years ago. One of those genes protects land mammals against some harmful pesticides.
Robert K. Bonde/USGS–Gainesville
Science News
News
A new computer program generates eerily realistic fake videos
It’s getting harder to tell fact from fiction — even on camera.
Screentime
Scientists-turned-students guide viewers through ‘The Most Unknown’
In The Most Unknown, a film on Netflix, a research round robin leads to fascinating discussions about scientific questions.
Sponsor Message
News
Tiny bits of RNA can trigger pain and itchiness
Two microRNAs may shed light on the causes of nerve pain and itch.
Feature
People are bad at spotting fake news. Can computer programs do better?
Fake news–finding algorithms could someday make up the front lines of online fact checking.
Reviews & Previews
Strange brains offer a glimpse into the mind
A close look at unusual brains offers a way to understand how the human mind is constructed, two new books argue.
Feature
Conflict reigns over the history and origins of money
Thousands of years ago, money took different forms as a means of debt payment, archaeologists and anthropologists say.
News
In the animal kingdom, what does it mean to be promiscuous?
A review of hundreds of scientific studies finds that the label “promiscuous” is applied to a surprisingly wide range of mating behaviors in animals.
News
The first gene-silencing drug wins FDA approval
The FDA just approved the first drug that works via RNA interference.
News in Brief
With launch looming, the Parker Solar Probe is ready for its star turn
The Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to launch on August 11 to become the first spacecraft to touch the sun.
Film
What ‘The Meg’ gets wrong — and right — about megalodon sharks
A paleobiologist helps Science News separate shark fact from fiction in the new Jason Statham film The Meg.
News
A faint glow found between galaxies could be a beacon for dark matter
Intracluster light may help reveal where dark matter resides within galaxy clusters.
News
Pregnant women’s use of opioids is on the rise
The rate of opioid use during pregnancy more than quadrupled in 28 U.S. states, prompting physicians to call for increased screening.
News in Brief
Here’s how fast cell death can strike
Scientists have measured how quickly the signal to commit form of cellular suicide called apoptosis travels.
News
A ghost gene leaves ocean mammals vulnerable to some pesticides
Manatees, dolphins and other warm-blooded marine animals can't break down organophosphates due to genetic mutations that occurred long ago.
News
A newly approved drug could be a boon for treating malaria
Tafenoquine could help prevent the recurring form of malaria, but the drug may also be dangerous for people who have a certain genetic mutation.
News
New Horizons may have seen a glow at the solar system’s edge
New Horizons may have seen a hydrogen wall just past the edge of the solar system, where the solar wind meets the stuff of interstellar space.
News
Researchers say CRISPR edits to a human embryo worked. But critics still doubt it
Researchers say that they have confirmed CRISPR/Cas9 edits of a heart disease–causing version of a gene, but critics still have doubts.
News
The debate over people’s pathway into the Americas heats up
Defenders of an ice-free inland passage for early Americans make their case.
News in Brief
Global dimming may mitigate warming, but could hurt crop yields
Injecting a veil of tiny particles into the atmosphere might reduce global warming, but it could also lower crop yields.
News
Nasty stomach viruses can travel in packs
Contained clusters of rotavirus and norovirus caused more severe infections in mice than the same viruses working solo.
News
Zika may harm nearly 1 in 7 babies exposed to the virus in the womb
A new CDC report tallies neurological and developmental problems, in addition to birth defects, possibly due to Zika in U.S. territory–born babies.
News
Football and hockey players aren’t doomed to suffer brain damage
A comprehensive look at the brains and behavior of retired professional football players and retired hockey players finds no signs of early dementia.
News
Astronomers saw the first mass eruption from a star that’s not the sun
The first coronal mass ejection observed fleeing another star was as massive as scientists expected, but carried less energy.
The –est
This killifish can go from egg to sex in two weeks
The fastest known maturing vertebrate in the lab is even faster in the wild.