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Genetics

A story about why people get fat may be just that

In this issue, reporters look at efforts to find the genes that could be responsible for the obesity crisis and how evolution acts on diseases such as Ebola and tuberculosis.

Psychology

Simple rules can ease complex financial decisions

Straightforward strategies, known as heuristics, can be indispensable tools for keeping credit card debt in check as well as for making complex business decisions.

Genetics

Ancient famine-fighting genes can’t explain obesity

Scientists question the long-standing notion that adaptation — specifically the evolution of genes that encourage humans to hold on to fat so they can survive times of famine — has driven the obesity crisis.

Microbes

Magnets diagnose malaria in minutes

A small magnet-based device provides faster, more-sensitive malaria diagnosis in mice.

Oceans

Plastic may take unexpected routes to marine garbage patches

By redefining ocean boundaries, researchers offer new insight to how litter moves through the oceans and who’s to blame for the floating clumps of trash.

Tech

Space tourism’s price tag rockets upward

The “high price” of space tourism proposed in the 1960s is nowhere close to the astronomical price tag of trips today.

Animals

Archerfish mouth is the secret of precision spit

Trained fish shoot down two hypotheses for their fine spit control but reveal fancy mouth work.

Earth

Death Valley’s sailing stones caught on the move

Mysterious sailing stones wandering around Death Valley are powered by ice and wind.

Genetics

Source of coffee’s kick found in its genetic code

Coffee doubled up on caffeine-making genes. Those genes evolved independently from similar ones found in tea and chocolate plants.

Paleontology

World’s largest dinosaur discovered

A plant-eating dinosaur named Dreadnoughtus schrani has claimed the record for most massive land animal discovered to date.

Neuroscience

Children’s brains shaped by music training

After two years of an enrichment program, children’s brains showed more sophisticated response to spoken syllables.

Astronomy

Milky Way connected to a vast network of galaxies

The Milky Way galaxy lives on the outer edge of a newly discovered supercluster of galaxies named Laniakea that is 520 million light-years across.