In the July 6 SN: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, stone tool dates face scrutiny, ocean plastic goes deep, records of Inca taxation, erosion spurred plate tectonics and more.
BACTERIAL BUDDY Gut bacteria called Akkermansia (shown in an electron micrograph) produce vitamins and other molecules that lessen the severity of ALS symptoms in mice. People with ALS have fewer of these bacteria than healthy people do, but it’s too soon to tell whether getting more of the bacteria or its products will help.
Patrice Cani/UCLouvain
DISK DIVERSITY The swirling disks of gas and dust around young stars, some of which are shown here in images taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, come in a variety of forms. New research raises questions about whether gaps in the disks mark the birthplaces of planets.
Sean Andrews/DSHARP/ALMA
UP AND AWAY The Chandrayaan 2 mission launches from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center.
ISRO
DEATH GRIP Once the “zombie ant fungus” invades an ant’s jaw muscles, the insect clings with clenched jaws to a twig until, and even after, its death.
Melissa Ishler; specimen collected by Kimberly Fleming.
