LOOKING UP Data from NASA's Juno spacecraft are revealing new details of Jupiter, from the swirling cyclones at the planet's poles (south pole, shown) to its great white ovals, storms and stripes of gas.
NASA, SWRI, MSSS
-
Magazine
In the May 27 SN: Genetic intruders, seeing Chaco in a new light, an artificial womb, Mars’ origin revisited, domestication of the horse, glimpsing Earth’s glacial past, what’s in a fang blenny’s bite and more.
A LEG TO STAND ON Scientists have tackled the question of how a biggish bird can balance, and apparently nap, on just one skinny leg.
Clint /iStockphoto
DO THE WAVE Quantum matter acts like both a particle and a wave, as demonstrated by the famous double-slit experiment (illustrated above). Electrons sent through a pair of slits interfere like waves, creating peaks and troughs. This wave nature of matter could be used to create a tractor beam that could reel in atoms or molecules, a new study proposes.
Russell Kightley/Science Source
ON THE MOVE Researchers used genetic information from Zika virus (illustrated) to follow its spread among affected regions in South and Central America and the Caribbean.
urfinguss/iStockphoto
Science News
Science Visualized
Magnetism disrupts winds on ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanet
Simulations of HAT-P 7b’s magnetic field give clues to why the exoplanet’s winds blow both east and west.
News
Juno spacecraft reveals a more complex Jupiter
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has sent back unexpected details about Jupiter, giving scientists their first intimate look at the giant planet.
Sponsor Message
News
Deep heat may have spawned one of the world’s deadliest tsunamis
The 2004 Indonesian quake was surprisingly strong because of dried-out, brittle minerals far below.
Feature
Jumping genes play a big role in what makes us human
Jumping genes have been a powerful force in human evolution.
News
Obscure brain region linked to feeding frenzy in mice
Nerve cells in a little-studied part of the brain exert a powerful effect on eating, a mouse study suggests.
Feature
Chaco Canyon’s ancient civilization continues to puzzle
A dynasty may have risen from the dead in an ancient Chaco great house.
News
New test may improve pancreatic cancer diagnoses
Blood test that detects five tumor proteins may someday help doctors better screen for pancreatic cancer.
News
The Zika epidemic began long before anyone noticed
Zika spread undetected into Brazil and Florida, a genetic study suggests.
News
How a flamingo balances on one leg
Flamingos’ built-in tricks for balance might have a thing or two to teach standing robots or prosthesis makers someday.
News
Tool sharpens focus on Stone Age networking in the Middle East
Stone Age tool’s route to Syrian site covered at least 700 kilometers.
News
European fossils may belong to earliest known hominid
With new analyses of Graecopithecus fossils from Greece and Bulgaria, researchers argue for possible hominid origins in Europe, not Africa.
News
40 more ‘intelligence’ genes found
A study of nearly 80,000 people turns up 40 genes that may have a role in making brains smarter.
News
Even short-term opioid use can set people up for addiction risks
A study of opioid prescriptions for sprained ankles finds that patients prescribed 30 or more pills are more likely to seek refills.
News
Quantum tractor beam could tug atoms, molecules
The wavelike behavior of quantum particles could be harnessed to move atoms.
Science Stats
Global access to quality health care has improved in the last two decades
Health care quality and availability improved worldwide from 1990 to 2015, but the gap between countries with the lowest and highest levels of care widened.
News
Hybrid protein offers malaria protection
Rare hybrid protein that spans red blood cell membranes offers some protection against malaria.
News
Transplanted stem cells become eggs in sterile mice
Sterile mice that received transplanted egg-making stem cells were able to have healthy babies.
50 Years Ago
50 years ago, an Earth-based telescope spotted Saturn’s fourth ring
Scientists now rely on spacecraft to chart the intricate rings of the gas giant.
News
When it’s hot, plants become a surprisingly large source of air pollution
During a heat wave, trees and shrubs can sharply raise ozone levels, a new study shows.
News
Orangutans take motherhood to extremes, nursing young for more than eight years
Weaning in orangutans has been tricky to see in the wild, so researchers turned to dental tests to reveal long nursing period.
It's Alive
Blennies have a lot of fang for such little fishes
Unlike snakes, blennies evolved fangs before venom, through probably not because of any need to hunt big prey.
News
Where you live can affect your blood pressure, study suggests
For black adults, moving out of a racially segregated neighborhood is linked to a drop in blood pressure, a new study finds.
News
Naked singularity might evade cosmic censor
Physicists demonstrate the possibility of a “naked” singularity in curved space.
Exhibit
New museum exhibit explores science of racism
“Us and Them,” a new exhibit at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, draws on genetics, psychology, anthropology and sociology to examine why racism and prejudice persist.