Notebook

Neuroscience

Claim of memory transfer made 50 years ago

Scientist’s claims of transferred memories were more fiction than fact.

Animals

First known venomous frogs stab with toxin-dripping lip spikes

Two Brazilian frogs jab foes with venoms more deadly than pit vipers'.

Climate

Iceless Arctic summers now expected by 2050s

The Arctic Ocean will have its first ice-free summer in the 2050s, nine years earlier than previously forecast, according to improved simulations.

Health & Medicine

The five basic tastes have sixth sibling: oleogustus

Scientists dub the taste of fat oleogustus.

Genetics

Wolves in jackals’ clothing

Africa’s golden jackals are really a species of wolf and deserve a name change, DNA evidence indicates.

Astronomy

Distant star has northern lights–like display

A dim star shows signs of auroral lights, the first detected on a body that’s not a planet or moon.

Animals

Toddler seahorses are bumbling and adorable

Rice-grain-sized youngsters can’t yet get a grasp with their tails.

Planetary Science

First craters on Mars spotted 50 years ago

Fifty years ago, Mariner 4 revealed that the Red Planet was peppered with craters. Now we know pockmarks are common on many other planets and moons, too.

Environment

Fracking doesn’t always go to great depths

Fracking at shallow depths is unexpectedly common in the United States and raises new concern for drinking water contamination.

Health & Medicine

Bystanders deliver on CPR

People suffering from cardiac arrest are more likely to survive without brain damage if a bystander performs CPR, new studies suggest.

Genetics

Melonomics: Sounds like a cancer, smells like a melon

The project that published the first melon genome dubbed itself melonomics.

Climate

Wildfire seasons have gotten almost 20 percent longer

The average length of wildfire seasons has increased 18.7 percent since 1979, new research shows.