Feature
- Astronomy
Planet Formation on the Fast Track
New computer simulations suggest that planets as massive as Jupiter may have formed in only a few hundred years rather than several million years, as the leading theory of planet formation requires.
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- Chemistry
Delivering the Goods
Experimental gene-delivery therapies generally use viruses to shuttle genetic material into cells, but some researchers are devising ways to avoid using the sometimes-risky viruses.
- Anthropology
Southern Reindeer Folk
Western scientists make their first expeditions to Mongolia's Tsaatan people, herders who preserve the old ways at the southernmost rim of reindeer territory.
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- Animals
Camelid Comeback
The future of vicuñas in South America and wild camels in Asia hinges on decisions being made now about their management.
- Tech
A Shot in the Light
Bullet replicas that look on a microscopic level like they've been fired from a gun—even though they haven't—enable forensics specialists to fine-tune as never before instruments to automatically match bullets from crime scenes.
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Breathtaking Science
A small region within the brainstem creates the normal breathing rhythm.
- Earth
Hawaii’s Hated Frogs
Wildlife officials in Hawaii are investigating unconventional pesticides to eradicate invasive frogs—or at least to check their advance.
- Earth
Mapping with GRACE
Global gravity maps compiled from data painstakingly gathered during the last 30 years have now been rendered obsolete by a pair of satellites that were launched just last March.
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