LUNAR LEFTOVERS Astronauts, like those who touched down in the Apollo 15 lunar module (shown) in July 1971, left a lot on the moon’s surface, from scientific instruments to trash.
NASA
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Magazine
In the June 22 SN: New approaches in Lyme disease diagnostics, seafood shells get a second life, illegal emissions traced to China, Pluto’s icy volcano, how to walk like a sauropod, a World War II uranium cube mystery and more.
WHALE TALES The vocal repertoire of southern right whales includes quiet calls that may help mothers and calves stay in touch while hiding their location from predators, a study finds.
Nattrass/Getty Images Plus
LIFE IN 3-D Colored filters let a praying mantis watch a 3-D video of a moving disk while researchers studied the nerve cells that contribute to the insect’s depth perception.
Newcastle Univ., UK
LONGFINGER Elektorornis chenguangi, a newly identified species of bird that lived about 99 million years ago (shown in an artist’s reconstruction), had a bizarrely long third digit on its foot. The extra-long toe may have helped in foraging for food.
Zhongda Zhang/Current Biology
Science News
News
‘Sunny day’ high tide floods are on the rise along U.S. coasts
Sea level rise led to record-breaking tidal flooding in cities along the U.S. East Coast, a NOAA report found.
Growth Curve
5 days ago
News
Spraying bats with ‘good’ bacteria may combat deadly white nose syndrome
Nearly half of bats infected with white nose syndrome survived through winter after being spritzed with antifungal bacteria, a small study finds.
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Feature
How NASA has kept Apollo moon rocks safe from contamination for 50 years
NASA wouldn’t let our reporter touch the Apollo moon rocks. Here’s why that’s a good thing.
Feature
Apollo astronauts left trash, mementos and experiments on the moon
Here’s what planetary scientists are learning from the remains of Apollo outposts, and how archeologists hope to preserve it.
Reviews & Previews
Celebrate the moon landing anniversary with books that go beyond the small step
New books about Apollo 11 and the mission to the moon offer something for everyone, from astronomy lovers to fans of graphic novels and self-improvement buffs.
Essay
Ancient humans used the moon as a calendar in the sky
Whether the moon was a timekeeper for early humans, as first argued during the Apollo missions, is still up for debate.
Science Visualized
Tiny glasses help reveal how praying mantises can see in 3-D
Newfound nerve cells in praying mantises help detect different views that each of the insects’ eyes sees, a mismatch that creates depth perception.
Feature
Moonlight shapes how some animals move, grow and even sing
The moon’s light influences lion prey behavior, dung beetle navigation, fish growth, mass migrations and birdsong.
News
This solar-powered device produces energy and cleans water at the same time
Someday, the two-for-one machine could help curb electricity and freshwater shortages.
News
3 questions seismologists are asking after the California earthquakes
After back-to-back quakes, scientists are scrambling to figure out which faults ruptured and what it means for future California quake activity.
News
Artificial intelligence has now pretty much conquered poker
A new artificial intelligence called Pluribus is a real card shark at six-player no-limit Texas Hold’em.
News in Brief
Southern right whale moms and calves may whisper to evade orcas
Mother-calf whale pairs call to each other quietly to stay in touch while avoiding attracting the attention of predators, a study suggests.
News in Brief
An ancient bird found encased in amber had a bizarrely long toe
A 99-million-year-old fossil holds a bird with an oddly long toe, which might have helped the critter hook hard-to-reach dinners.
News
Hayabusa2 may have just snagged bits of asteroid Ryugu’s insides
In its second sampling attempt, Hayabusa2 became the first spacecraft to try to pick up some of an asteroid’s guts.
News
Both fish and humans have REM-like sleep
Sleeping zebrafish have brain and body activity similar to snoozing mammals, suggesting that sleep evolved at least 450 million years ago.
News
A Greek skull may belong to the oldest human found outside of Africa
Humans possibly reached southeastern Europe by 210,000 years ago.
Science Visualized
See how visualizations of the moon have changed over time
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, here’s a collection of images that show how the moon has been visualized over the ages.
News
Moons that escape their planets could become ‘ploonets’
If giant planets in other star systems lose their moons, the freed objects could become “ploonets,” and current telescopes may be able to find them.
News
A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reefs
Scientists are racing to learn what’s behind a disease that’s “annihilating” whole coral species in hopes of stopping it.
Science Visualized
A 100-hour MRI scan captured the most detailed look yet at a whole human brain
Researchers report ultraprecise imaging of a postmortem human brain.
News
Ground beetle genitals have the genetic ability to get strange. They don’t
A new look at the genetics of sex organs finds underpinnings of conflicts over genital size.
News
Here’s the science behind some of your favorite things to do in summer
Inject some science into your summer.
News
The largest seaweed bloom ever detected spanned the Atlantic in 2018
Nutrient-rich water from the Amazon River may be helping massive seaweed mats to flourish each summer in the Atlantic Ocean.
News in Brief
Ancient DNA reveals the origins of the Philistines
A mysterious Biblical-era population may have fled Bronze Age calamities.