IN AND OUT OF VIEW A glimpse of a possible Neptune-sized exomoon around a Jupiter-sized exoplanet (shown in this artist’s illustration) is proving hard to confirm.
NASA, ESA and L. Hustak/STScI (CC BY 4.0)
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Magazine
In Dec. 22 SN: Our top stories of 2018, baffling star behavior, early hominids in North Africa, the oldest evidence of vanilla, wombat poop physics, Earth’s impact craters and more.
GLOBAL OBSERVATIONS An odd stellar flare called the “Cow” was observed by telescopes around the world, including the Australia Telescope Compact Array (shown) near Narrabri, Australia.
Alex Cherney, CSIRO
RADIATION READOUT Quickly examining personal electronics for radiation exposure could help triage medical treatment of radiation sickness after a nuclear disaster.
INSAGO/Shutterstock
BRINE PRODUCERS Many desalination plants, such as this one in Saudi Arabia, lie close to the coast so they can easily take in seawater to purify and flush an extremely salty brine waste product back into the ocean.
Waleed Alzuhair/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Science News
Feature
Two daring spacecraft aim to bring asteroid dust back to Earth
A pair of daredevil spacecraft that aim to bring asteroid dust back to Earth have reached their targets and are scouting for the best sampling spots.
News
A new 3-D printed ‘sponge’ sops up excess chemo drugs
Researchers have created “sponges” that would absorb excess cancer drugs before they spread through the body and cause negative side effects.
Sponsor Message
News in Brief
The first suspected exomoon may remain hidden for another decade
The discoverers of the first evidence for a moon orbiting a planet around a distant star are still trying to confirm the object’s existence.
Feature
150 years on, the periodic table has more stories than it has elements
The organized rows and columns of the Periodic Table hide a rich and twisting history.
News
Easing test anxiety boosts low-income students’ biology grades
Wealthier students outperform their less advantaged peers in math and science. Decreasing test anxiety may help even the playing field.
Essay
How the periodic table went from a sketch to an enduring masterpiece
150 years ago, Russian chemist Dmitrii Mendeleev created the periodic table of the elements, revolutionizing chemistry.
News
A cosmic flare called the ‘Cow’ may reveal a new way that stars die
A burst of light from far away may have been an odd type of exploding star or a white dwarf being eaten by a black hole.
News
Desalination pours more toxic brine into the ocean than previously thought
Desalination plants help offset the world’s growing water needs, but they also produce much more supersalty water than scientists realized.
News in Brief
Your phone could reveal your radiation exposure after a nuclear disaster
Examining personal electronics may help gauge people’s radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear accident or attack.
News
Here’s how the record-breaking government shutdown is disrupting science
The partial government shutdown is taking many U.S. scientists out of commission and putting up hurdles to their research.
News
A drill built for Mars is being used to bore into Antarctic bedrock
An autonomous drill originally designed for work on Mars has its first mission in Antarctica.
News
How worm blobs behave like a liquid and a solid
Blobs of worms flow like a fluid, plop like a solid and fascinate scientists.
News
Nerve cells from people with autism grow unusually big and fast
In some forms of autism, nerve cells develop faster than normal, possibly setting the stage for the disorder, a study finds.
News
Poison toilet paper reveals how termites help rainforests resist drought
Novel use of poisoned toilet paper rolls and teabags led to discovery that termites help tropical forests resist droughts.
News in Brief
Floating seabirds provide a novel way to trace ocean currents
Seabirds idly drifting with ocean currents provide a novel way to track and understand how these flows change with time and location.
50 Years Ago
50 years ago, scientists studied orcas in the wild for the first time
The study of killer whales has come a long way since the capture of seven in 1968 allowed scientists to study the animals in their habitat.
News
‘Little Foot’ skeleton reveals a brain much like a chimp’s
An ancient skeleton dubbed Little Foot points to the piecemeal evolution of various humanlike traits in hominids, two studies suggest.
News
This protein may help explain why some women with endometriosis are infertile
Infertile women with endometriosis have a reduced amount of a protein found to be important for establishing pregnancy in mice, a study finds.
News
A new app tracks breathing to detect an opioid overdose
A smartphone app called Second Chance could help save opioid users who shoot up alone.
News in Brief
Paint specks in tooth tartar illuminate a medieval woman’s artistry
Tooth tartar unveils an expert female manuscript painter buried at a German monastery.
News
A second repeating fast radio burst has been tracked to a distant galaxy
Astronomers have spotted a second repeating fast radio burst, and it looks a lot like the first.
The Name Game
Studies can be in vitro, in vivo and now ‘in fimo’ — in poop
Scientists have coined a new term — “in fimo” — to describe studies focused on feces.
News
Less than a year after launch, TESS is already finding bizarre worlds
The TESS exoplanet hunter has spotted eight confirmed worlds in its first four months, and several of them are really weird.
News in Brief
A protein in mosquito eggshells could be the insects’ Achilles’ heel
A newly discovered protein found exclusively in mosquitoes may one day help control their numbers.