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.
BAD AIR U.S. pollution levels have come way down since the 1970s, but there’s still enough smog to raise the risk for cardiovascular deaths. Researchers are also drawing new connections between dirty air and metabolic and brain disorders.
plherrera/iStockphoto
BAT SIGNALS The U.S. Navy uses sonar to image underwater objects and obstacles, such as this shipwreck in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Taking inspiration from bats, naval researchers hope to get sharper images with smaller, cheaper sonar equipment.
J. Gaudette, Naval Undersea Warfare Center
HEAT WAVE Accelerating at a high rate could make empty space seem hot, according to an idea called the Unruh effect. Scientists may have spotted signs of an analogous phenomenon in ripples of water.
u3d/Shutterstock
BAT BRAINS A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) participates in experiments at Johns Hopkins University’s high-tech bat laboratory.
Ben Falk and Brock Fenton
