News in Brief

Health & Medicine

Organ waiting list policy benefits the wealthy, study charges

Wealthier patients can afford to get on more organ transplant lists, giving them an advantage, a new study says.

Physics

Water droplets spontaneously bounce, sans trampoline

Initially stationary water droplets can bounce on an extremely water-repellent surface as if on a trampoline.

Paleontology

Ancient larvae built predator-thwarting mazes

Mazelike tunnels built by ancient insect larvae offered protection from predators, paleontologists propose.

Earth

New recipe for diamonds: Just add acid

Simulating the chemistry, pressures and temperatures in Earth’s interior, scientists have discovered a new way diamonds can form.

Animals

World’s smallest snail record broken again

Snails may not be speedy, but itty-bitty snail shells found in Borneo are breaking a size record at a breakneck pace.

Planetary Science

Probes unveil three hidden blemishes on moon’s face

Gravitational tugs on a pair of spacecraft have revealed previously unseen blemishes on the moon’s face.

Animals

Cat-versus-virus arms race goes back millennia

Researchers have found evidence of an ancient arms race between Felis silvestris catus, the species familiar today as the domestic cat, and feline immuno­deficiency virus.

Astronomy

Comet carries alcohol, sugar

Sugar and alcohol are just two of the ingredients that go into making a comet.

Genetics

Muscle-gene edit creates buff beagles

Gene editing works at low efficiency in dogs.

Astronomy

White dwarf upsets planetary system, consumes evidence

Rocky planets are disintegrating around a white dwarf, the core of a dead star.

Animals

For glowworms, the brightest girls get the guy

Brighter female glowworms attract more mates and lay more eggs than their dimmer peers.

Neuroscience

Sex influences ability to assess crowd’s emotion

New analyses explain how people detect an angry mob or a happy party.