BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Five years after an engine misfire, the Akatsuki spacecraft (illustrated) just got a second chance at orbiting the planet Venus.
JAXA
WHAT’S IN A WATER BEAR? A new study may deflate claims that water bears, technically called tardigrades, incorporate many genes from other organisms into their DNA.
Eye of Science/Science Source
FOSSIL BED Early dinosaur ancestors like the pair on the right were thought to evolve around 10 million years before dinosaurs. But new dating of fossil layers in Argentina cuts that time in half, to about 5 million years.
Image courtesy of Victor Leshyk
SEEK AND FIND The tripod at right holds a camera and laser, which in tandem can detect and track the movement of the foam figurine hidden around the corner.
Daniele Faccio & Heehaw for Heriot-Watt University
Science News
News
High-potency pot smokers show brain-fiber damage
People who smoke potent pot had signs of damage in a brain communication link.
News
DNA editing shows success in mosquito sterilization
A new gene drive that sterilizes females could reduce numbers of malaria mosquitoes
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‘Q-carbon’ may offer quick route to diamonds
Q-carbon might be the third form of solid carbon, but some scientists have doubts.
Feature
Can DNA predict a face?
DNA-based facial sketches are moving into the crime-solving arena. With current science, predictions of some features are better than others.
Science Stats
Humankind’s water use greater than thought
Humans’ global water footprint increases when accounting for water losses from water management practices.
Feature
Gene drives spread their wings
Gene drives may wipe out malaria and take down invasive species. But they may be difficult to control.
News
Warming culprit CO2 has a cool side — and it’s in Antarctica
Rising CO2 levels above central Antarctica cause cooling, not warming, new research suggests. The odd effect results from surface temperatures that are colder than the overlying stratosphere.
News
Human gene editing research gets green light
Gene editing research can move forward, but not for reproductive purposes, international summit committee says.
News in Brief
Mysterious cosmic signals carry a clue to their origins
A burst of radio waves from another galaxy ran into a dense magnetized plasma while en route to Earth, hinting at an origin near a population of young stars.
News
Pay attention to that under-the-weather feeling
People can forecast their likelihood of catching colds by rating their own health, study shows.
News
Spooky quantum connection quantified for multiple particles
Physicists have measured quantum entanglement between several particles rather than just two.
News in Brief
Virus spread by mosquitoes linked to rare birth defect
In addition to fever, rash and vomiting, Zika virus may cause rare birth defect.
News in Brief
Pregnancy hormone could keep multiple sclerosis at bay
A small trial hints that pregnancy hormone can reduce MS flare-ups.
News
Maxwell’s demon faces the heat
A device inspired by an 1867 thought experiment fails to break the second law of thermodynamics, which governs the flow of heat and the drive toward maximum disorder.
Say What?
Super-Earths, meet superpuffs, a lighter weight class of planet
Superpuffs are underweight, oversized planets that formed in outskirts of star systems before cuddling up close to their sun.
The Science Life
Inside the roaring sex lives of howler monkeys
Listening to the intense roars of howler monkeys in Mexico inspired scientists to decipher how and why calls differ among species.
News
People roamed tip of South America 18,500 years ago
Stone tools, charred animal bones and fire ash found at the Monte Verde site in Chile indicate people reached South America’s southernmost territory at least 18,500 years ago.
Reviews & Previews
Pioneering geologist sought to demystify volcanic eruptions
In The Last Volcano, a geologist profiles Thomas Jaggar, one of the 20th century’s most influential volcanologists.