SMALL BUT DEADLY The potent toxin epibatidine was first discovered in 1974, when it was isolated from the skin of the phantasmal poison frog, Epipedobates anthonyi (one shown).
R. Tarvin/University of Texas at Austin
-
Magazine
In the Sept. 30 SN: Smog's health woes, secrets of the bat brain, slug slime inspires surgical glue, wild beer, Neandertal tar recipes, the sun's recent flare-ups and more.
LYING IN WAIT Huge tubs of water (one shown) at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina reveal the tracks left as cosmic particles zip through them.
Steven Saffi
IRMA INCOMING Hurricane Irma passed by Cuba on September 8, 2017, as a Category 4 storm (seen in this geocolor image captured by NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite) before making landfall in the Florida Keys on September 10, 2017.
NOAA/CIRA
TANGLED The brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease symptoms (right) is laden with tau protein (red), while a person with no symptoms (left) has little tau.
Matthew R. Brier
Science News
News
From day one, a frog’s developing brain is calling the shots
Frog brains help organize muscle and nerve patterns early in development.
News
Neandertal kids were a lot like kids today — at least in how they grew
Ancient youngster’s spine and brain grew at relatively slow pace.
News
The way poison frogs keep from poisoning themselves is complicated
Gaining resistance to one of their own toxins forced some poison dart frogs to make other genetic tweaks, too.
Feature
Bat brain signals illuminate navigation in the dark
New lab technologies that let bats fly freely allow scientists to track nerve cell signals as the animals dodge and weave.
News
Gene variant linked to Alzheimer’s disease is a triple threat
A genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease works on multiple aspects of the disease, researchers report.
Feature
The list of diseases linked to air pollution is growing
Air pollution levels have come down since the 1970s, but smog is being linked with a growing list of diseases, including dementia, obesity, diabetes and even Parkinson’s.
50 Years Ago
Confusion lingers over health-related pros and cons of marijuana
50 years ago, the effects of chronic marijuana smoking on mental health were hazy. They still are.
Feature
How bats could help tomato farmers (and the U.S. Navy)
The way bats navigate their environs inspires engineers to develop better sonar and robots that can estimate crop yield or deliver packages
News
Intense storms provide the first test of powerful new hurricane forecast tools
From Harvey to Maria, this year’s powerful hurricanes are giving scientists’ latest forecasting tools a trial by fire.
News
Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays come from outside the Milky Way
The biggest cosmic ray haul ever points toward other galaxies as the source of the rays, not our own.
News
Shhhh! Some plant-eating dinos snacked on crunchy critters
Scientists studying dinosaur poop found that some duck-billed dinos cheated on their vegetarian diets by snacking on crustaceans.
News
This newfound hermit crab finds shelter in corals, not shells
A newly discovered hermit crab takes its cue from peanut worms and uses walking corals as a permanent shelter.
News
By ganging up, HIV antibodies may defeat the virus
A duo or trio of powerful antibodies was effective at stopping an HIV-like infection in lab monkeys, two studies find.
News
In a first, human embryos edited to explore gene function
In groundbreaking research, CRISPR/Cas9 used to study human development for the first time.
The Science Life
This biochemist brews a wild beer
Wild beer studies are teaching scientists and brewers about the tropical fruit smell and sour taste of success.
News
Now we know how much glacial melting ‘watermelon snow’ can cause
Algae that give snow a red tint are making glacial snow in Alaska melt faster.
Rethink
3-D scans of fossils suggest new fish family tree
Analysis of specimens from China implies ray-finned fishes evolved later than previously thought.
News
A new test of water ripples supports the idea of quantum heat in a vacuum
Water waves bolster theory that accelerating space travelers really feel the heat.
Reviews & Previews
‘Big Chicken’ chronicles the public health dangers of using antibiotics in farming
A new book takes a hard look at the chicken industry for its role in fostering antibiotic resistance.
Science Visualized
Tiny ‘supraballs’ put a new spin on creating long-lasting color
Nano-sized balls of melanin and silica generate durable colors.
News
Animal goo inspires better glue
Researchers are turning to nature to create adhesives that work in the wet environment of the human body.
News
A researcher reveals the shocking truth about electric eels
A biologist records the electrical current traveling through his arm during an electric eel’s defensive leap attack.
News in Brief
Microbes hobble a widely used chemo drug
Bacteria associated with cancer cells can inactivate a chemotherapy drug.
News
How to peel permanent marker off glass
Water’s surface tension can peel a thin hydrophobic film such as permanent ink off glass surfaces.