Feature Science & Society Science News of the Year 2003 Share this:EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPocketRedditPrint By Science News December 16, 2003 at 1:27 pm Genetic material extracted from the bones of prehistoric European Homo sapiens, or Cro-Magnons, fueled the controversial theory that people and Neandertals didn’t interbreed . S. Ricci Planetary scientists discovered ice near the edge of Mars’ south polar cap . Melting snow may have sculpted the recently formed gullies on Mars . The presence of large amounts of the mineral olivine argued against ancient oceans or lakes on Mars . Scientists deduced that the Red Planet’s core is at least partially liquid . Mars came closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000 years . Fosbury et al., ESA/NASA/NOAO Using a gravitational zoom lens, scientists found the hottest, brightest, and most crowded star-forming region yet observed . Berger/Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab. The sharpest images of the sun ever taken showed surprising details of our star’s turbulent surface . Ibata et al.; NASA, J. Bell, M. Wolff An imaging study indicated that disturbances in a network of brain regions that participate in control of attention and behavior underlie attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in kids and teens . UCLA Lab. Of Neuro Imaging Monkeys demonstrated to scientists for the first time that a nonhuman species harbors a sense of fairness . De Waal A new class of experimental drugs that mimic the actions of the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 showed benefits against type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. The drugs are based on a compound first identified in the saliva of the venomous Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). Glucagon-like peptide 1 revs up and refurbishes insulin-making cells of the pancreas and might spawn the growth of new cells . M. Seward Entomologists decided that stick insects might have done something once thought impossible: lost a complicated trait, their wings, in the course of evolution but recovered it millions of years later . A. Whiting Scientists cloned a horse and a mule for the first time, and Dolly the sheep, the first cloned animal, died (; ). Lazzari/Nature From polymers and carbon nanotubes, scientists fabricated self-cleaning materials dubbed superhydrophobic because water easily rolls off them and carries away dirt (; ). Gu et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Fighting off the viruses More Stories from Science News on Science & Society Artificial Intelligence Talking to a chatbot may weaken someone’s belief in conspiracy theories By Sujata GuptaSeptember 12, 2024 Artificial Intelligence AI generates harsher punishments for people who use Black dialect By Sujata GuptaSeptember 10, 2024 Artificial Intelligence A new book tackles AI hype – and how to spot it By Elizabeth QuillSeptember 3, 2024 Microbes A fluffy, orange fungus could transform food waste into tasty dishes By Anna GibbsAugust 29, 2024 Earth ‘Turning to Stone’ paints rocks as storytellers and mentors By Alka Tripathy-LangAugust 21, 2024 Chemistry Old books can have unsafe levels of chromium, but readers’ risk is low By Skyler WareAugust 18, 2024 Space Astronauts actually get stuck in space all the time By Lisa GrossmanAugust 15, 2024 Space Scientists are getting serious about UFOs. Here’s why By Sid PerkinsAugust 7, 2024