MAIN SLAB Archaeorhynchus spathula was a beaked, feathered bird that lived 120 million years ago. A new fossil discovery suggests it had a respiratory system similar to that of modern birds.
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Magazine
In the Oct. 13 SN: 2018’s scientists to watch, superconductors heat up, the world’s oldest drawing, a sneaky superbug slayer, Ceres’ ice volcanoes, the birth of a neutron star, kidney stones close-up and more.
ROLY-POLY An electron (illustrated) orbits an atom’s nucleus, with a cloud of other hypothetical subatomic particles that could squash the electron’s shape. But so far, measurements show that the electron seems to be almost perfectly round, providing no hint of yet-to-be-found particles.
Nicolle Rager Fuller, NSF
TWIRLING TERROR States such as Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are seeing more tornadoes each year than in the past, a study finds.
NOAA
DRUG DATA A new computing system lets pharmaceutical companies pool data to train AI programs for discovering new medications — without having to share confidential information with competitors.
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Science News
Feature
How to make organ transplants last
New strategies aim to help transplant recipients keep their organs healthy with fewer (or no) immune suppressing drugs.
Science Ticker
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DNA differences are linked to having same-sex sexual partners
Genetic differences are associated with choosing same-sex partners in both men and women.
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New therapies pack a triple-drug punch to treat cystic fibrosis
In testing, a triple-drug therapy significantly improved lung function in cystic fibrosis patients with the most common disease-causing mutation.
Feature
The SN 10: These scientists defy limits to tackle big problems
With a drive to understand how things work, these young researchers are making a mark in sustainable energy, medicine, astronomy and technology.
News
In a first, scientists spot what may be lungs in an ancient bird fossil
Possible traces of lungs preserved with a 120-million-year-old bird fossil could represent a respiratory system similar to that of modern birds.
50 Years Ago
50 years ago, the safety of artificial sweeteners was fiercely debated
Scientists are still learning more about the health effects of chemical sweeteners
News
Artificial intelligence crowdsources data to speed up drug discovery
A new AI that judges whether drugs will interact with certain proteins can train on data from multiple sources while keeping that info secret.
News in Brief
More tornadoes are popping up east of the Mississippi
Tornadoes are becoming slightly less frequent in Tornado Alley, while more are touching down farther east in the United States, a study suggests.
News
The water system that helped Angkor rise may have also brought its fall
A complex water system magnified flooding’s disruption of the medieval Cambodian city of Angkor.
News
What the electron’s near-perfect roundness means for new physics
The electron remains stubbornly round, meaning we may need to build beyond the Large Hadron Collider to find physics outside of the standard model.
Science Visualized
Dandelion seeds create a bizarre whirlpool in the air to fly
Researchers have deciphered the physics underlying dandelion flight.
News
These ancient mounds may not be the earliest fossils on Earth after all
A new analysis suggests that tectonics, not microbes, formed cone-shaped structures in 3.7-billion-year-old rock.
News
A mysterious polio-like disease has sickened as many as 127 people in the U.S.
Medical experts are trying to trace the cause of 62 confirmed cases of acute flaccid myelitis this year.
News in Brief
An ancient child’s ‘vampire burial’ included steps to prevent resurrection
A 10-year-old skeleton in a Roman cemetery had a stone placed in its mouth to prevent the youngster from rising from the dead, researchers say.
News
To unravel autism’s mysteries, one neuroscientist looks at the developing brain
Autism researcher Kevin Pelphrey focuses on understanding signs of the disorder in the developing brain, which could shed light on the condition.
News in Brief
People who have a good sense of smell are also good navigators
A sense of smell and a sense of direction are tangled in the brain, a new study finds.
Reviews & Previews
Explore the history of blood from vampires to the ‘Menstrual Man’
Rose George’s book ‘Nine Pints’ offers readers an engaging and insightful cultural and scientific history of blood.
News
In cadaver caves, baby beetles grow better with parental goo
A dead mouse — with the right microbial treatment from beetle parents — becomes a much better nursery than your average carcass.
News in Brief
Add beer to the list of foods threatened by climate change
Barley crops around the world will be threatened by drought and heat.
It's Alive
How nectar bats fly nowhere
Exquisitely sensitive tech makes first direct measurements of the forces of bat wingbeats.
News
Genealogy databases could reveal the identity of most Americans
Keeping your DNA private is getting harder.
Film
The Neil Armstrong biopic ‘First Man’ captures early spaceflight's terror
At a time when NASA is considering how to return astronauts to the moon, ‘First Man’ is a sobering reminder of how risky the first giant leap was.
News
Hundreds of dietary supplements are tainted with potentially harmful drugs
Most dietary supplements tainted with pharmaceutical drugs were marketed for sexual enhancement, weight loss or muscle building.
Teaser
Self-driving cars see better with cameras that mimic mantis shrimp vision
A new type of camera that sees in polarized light across a wide range of light intensities could help make self-driving cars safer on the road.