In the Oct. 13 SN: 2018’s scientists to watch, superconductors heat up, the world’s oldest drawing, a sneaky superbug slayer, Ceres’ ice volcanoes, the birth of a neutron star, kidney stones close-up and more.
ROLY-POLY An electron (illustrated) orbits an atom’s nucleus, with a cloud of other hypothetical subatomic particles that could squash the electron’s shape. But so far, measurements show that the electron seems to be almost perfectly round, providing no hint of yet-to-be-found particles.
Nicolle Rager Fuller, NSF
WATERED DOWN Medieval Angkor suffered a big blow when the city’s water system reacted badly to a fluctuating climate, a study suggests. Angkor Wat temple — a popular tourist destination — was once part of Greater Angkor.
Dennis Jarvis/flickr.com (CC BY-SA 2.0)
STAY DEAD A child buried in a fifth century Roman cemetery had a stone placed in his or her mouth as part of a funeral ritual to keep the body from coming back to life, scientists say.
D. Pickel/Stanford Univ.
HEAD START Studying early signs of autism in the developing brain may ultimately help researchers figure out why more boys are diagnosed with the disorder than girls.
Africa Studio/Shutterstock
