NUCLEAR SHAKEDOWN Rumblings of seismic waves reveal clues about North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests, detonated in a mountain.
Nicolle Rager Fuller
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Magazine
In the Aug. 5 SN: Seismologists study North Korea’s nukes, souped up solar cells, Larsen C finally cracks through, marshmallow test goes to Africa, bacteria’s mysterious architecture, an entanglement distance record, solar eclipse paths to come and more.
Science News
The Science Life
Balloons will broadcast the 2017 solar eclipse live from on high
Astrophysicist Angela Des Jardins is coordinating the first-ever livestream of a solar eclipse filmed from balloons.
Feature
Perovskites power up the solar industry
Perovskites are the latest hot materials in solar energy production.
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News
More hints of Martian hot springs may hold promise for Mars 2020 mission
An analysis of ridges in a crater of Margaritifer Terra on Mars offers evidence of ancient hot springs and also hints at the potential for finding signs of life.
Feature
How earthquake scientists eavesdrop on North Korea’s nuclear blasts
Researchers monitor the power and location of underground nuclear weapons testing by North Korea.
News
Quantum tunneling takes time, new study shows
A new measurement disfavors the idea that electrons can escape atoms instantaneously.
News
Most football players who donated their brains to science had traumatic injury
A self-selected sample of 202 deceased football players, the largest to date, finds that the majority suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
News
Add penis bacteria to the list of HIV risk factors
Certain bacteria found on the penis raise the risk of HIV infection, a new study finds.
Reviews & Previews
‘Making Contact’ chronicles an astronomer’s struggle to find E.T.
For decades, astronomer Jill Tarter led the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence, as detailed in a new biography.
News
Fewer big rogue planets roam the galaxy, recount shows
Jupiter-mass planets without parent solar systems are less common than astronomers thought, a new study suggests.
News
Radioactive substances leave electron ‘fingerprints’ behind
A new method of nuclear forensics could make it harder to handle radioactive material in secret.
Reviews & Previews
This history book offers excellent images but skimps on modern science
For an accessible account of mostly pre-20th century science, check out The Oxford Illustrated History of Science.
Say What?
Earth might once have resembled a hot, steamy doughnut
Newly proposed space objects called synestias are large, spinning hunks of mostly vaporized rock. They look like a jelly-filled doughnut.
News
Resistance to CRISPR gene drives may arise easily
New tools for pest and disease control could become useless without improvements.
News
Majorana fermion detected in a quantum layer cake
Scientists found evidence of a particle that is its own antiparticle.
News
Cows produce powerful HIV antibodies
For the first time in any animal, researchers elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV. Cows’ antibodies could help with drug development.
News
These genes may be why dogs are so friendly
Dog domestication may be the result of just a few genetic changes, including ones that made canines more interested in interacting with people.
News
Humans first settled in Australia as early as 65,000 years ago
Australia may have said “G’day” to humankind thousands of years earlier than previously believed.
The –est
The incredible shrinking transistor just got smaller
Tiniest transistor, made with carbon nanotubes, suggests computers aren’t done shrinking down.
News
Common drugs help reverse signs of fetal alcohol syndrome in rats
A thyroid hormone and a blood sugar drug affect levels of a hormone needed for brain development, study in rats shows.
News
Dog domestication happened just once, ancient DNA study suggests
DNA of ancient canines counters idea that dogs were domesticated twice, in Europe and Asia.
News
Scientists peek inside the mind of Maxwell’s demon
Scientists probe information retained by Maxwell’s demon.
News
Giant mud balls roamed the early solar system
The first asteroids may have been great balls of mud, which would solve some puzzling features of meteorites.
News in Brief
GM moth trial gets a green light from USDA
GM diamondback moths will take wing in a New York field trial.
News
Water bears will survive the end of the world as we know it
Water bears have a till-death-do-us-part pact with the sun, study suggests.