News in Brief
- Planetary Science
Unseen planets sweep up dust around young star
A large gap in the dusty disk around a young star reveals what our solar system might have looked like 4.6 billion years ago.
- Environment
Colorado deluge produced flood of drug-resistance genes
Flooding in Colorado’s South Platte River Basin washed antibiotics and drug-resistance genes into pristine waterways.
- Quantum Physics
Milestone algorithm runs on quantum computer
An algorithm proposed two decades ago that demonstrated the benefit of using quantum mechanics to solve certain problems has finally been run on a quantum computer.
- Astronomy
Philae lander image raises questions about probe’s health
Early reports suggest that Rosetta's lander Philae bounced twice when landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Genetics
Rare mutations may protect against heart disease
Rare mutations in a key gene seem to lower bad cholesterol and provide protection against heart disease.
- Health & Medicine
Uncommon malaria spreading in Malaysia
Malaria parasite’s jump from monkeys to people seems aided by deforestation in Malaysia.
- Animals
Bats jam each other in echolocation battles for food
By blaring a special call at just the right instant, Mexican free-tailed bats can ruin each other’s sonar-guided swoops toward prey.
- Paleontology
Ancient sea creature took to land and sea
A primitive relative of the ichthyosaur had strong bones and big flippers.
- Health & Medicine
Snakebite test correctly IDs attackers in Nepal
A new test that swabs for traces of snake DNA around bite marks can identify the guilty serpent and may improve treatments.
- Health & Medicine
Mushroom extract might eradicate HPV infection
In a small trial, a nutritional supplement derived from shiitake mushrooms wiped out dormant human papillomavirus infections.
- Health & Medicine
Increase in Denmark’s autism diagnoses caused by reporting changes
Changes in how autism is detected and recorded explain 60 percent of the recent increase in diagnoses, a Danish study finds.
- Chemistry
Atom breaks limit of lost electrons
An iridium atom sets the record for highest oxidation state at +9.
