News in Brief
- Oceans
Unknowns linger for sea mining
Scientists struggle to predict underwater digs’ effects on sea life.
- Psychology
Stress hormone rise linked to less risky financial decisions
People given cortisol chose safer options, suggesting inherent risk aversion as an overlooked variable in financial crises.
- Animals
Bonobos feel the beat
Some animals, like cockatoos and bonobos, are able to move to the groove. Studying animals that keep the beat might tell us whether musical rhythm is really widespread.
- Chemistry
X-rays uncover hidden faces in Rembrandt painting
Lead paint under the surface of the work gives away the artist’s indecisiveness.
- Health & Medicine
Project to collect 100,000 people’s medical data
Tracking microbiomes, blood tests and more over decades could provide individual health recommendations.
- Environment
How oil breaks fish hearts
Hydrocarbons that spill into oceans stifle the beat of tuna cardiac cells.
- Neuroscience
Gene adds wrinkle to brain development
Mutations in the gene GPR56 results in misshapen folds in the brain tied to intellectual and language disabilities.
- Animals
Orangutans hit the ground walking
A surprising affinity for moving across the forest floor may aid threatened apes.
- Health & Medicine
Drug injection could limit heart attack damage
Study in pigs suggests hydrogel treatment might minimize the risk of heart failure in survivors.
- Chemistry
Carbon monoxide junked for making plastic
Using a catalyst, chemists can swap in the less dangerous carbon dioxide.
- Archaeology
Nearly 1-million-year-old European footprints found
Erosion temporarily unveils remnants of a Stone Age stroll along England’s coast.
- Animals
Embryos in eggs move to get comfy
Even before hatching, Chinese alligators, snapping turtles and some relatives can shift toward favorable temperatures.
