Vol. 194 No. 11
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cover of December 8, 2018 issue

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More Stories from the December 8, 2018 issue

  1. Animals

    50 years ago, armadillos hinted that DNA wasn’t destiny

    Nine-banded armadillos have identical quadruplets. But the youngsters aren’t identical enough, and scientists 50 years ago could not figure out why.

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  2. Life

    A mash-up of yeast and E. coli shows how mitochondria might have evolved

    An engineered partnership between yeast and E. coli suggests one way mitochondria may have evolved.

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  3. Particle Physics

    Physicists measured Earth’s mass using neutrinos for the first time

    Counting tiny particles that can zip straight through the Earth reveals what the planet is like on the inside.

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  4. Computing

    Virtual avatars learned cartwheels and other stunts from videos of people

    A new computer system that lets animated characters learn acrobatic skills from videos could be a cheaper alternative to traditional motion capture.

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  5. Neuroscience

    Loneliness is bad for brains

    Social isolation shrinks nerve cells in the brains of mice, a new study shows.

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  6. Neuroscience

    A lack of sleep can induce anxiety

    Pulling an all-nighter induced anxiety in healthy people, a recent study finds.

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  7. Archaeology

    Like Europe, Borneo hosted Stone Age cave artists

    Rock art may have spread from Borneo across Southeast Asia starting 40,000 years ago or more.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Marijuana may change the decision-making part of teen brains

    A marijuana-like drug given to male rats during adolescence changed the structure of their brains.

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  9. Life

    The number of calories you burn while resting depends on the time of day

    This daily cycle of calorie burning is one of the many body processes that follow a biological clock.

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  10. Planetary Science

    Hints of Oort clouds around other stars may lurk in the universe’s first light

    Sifting through the universe’s early light could reveal planetary graveyards orbiting other stars.

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  11. Genetics

    Ancient DNA suggests people settled South America in at least 3 waves

    Genetic studies of ancient remains are filling in the picture of who the earliest Americans were and how they spread through the Americas long ago.

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  12. Earth

    These tiny, crackly bubbles are a new type of volcanic ash

    Scientists have identified a new type of volcanic ash made up of millimeter-long spheres with a crackled surface.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    A potent fish oil drug may protect high-risk patients against heart attacks

    People with, or at high risk of, cardiovascular disease lowered their chances of having a heart attack or stroke with a drug containing an omega-3 fatty acid.

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  14. Animals

    Climate change may have made the Arctic deadlier for baby shorebirds

    What were once relatively safe havens in the Arctic are now feasting sites for predators of baby birds.

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  15. Health & Medicine

    Vitamin D supplements don’t prevent heart disease or cancer

    Vitamin D supplements won’t cut your risk of heart attack or stroke, according to highly anticipated study results.

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  16. Animals

    Sound-absorbent wings and fur help some moths evade bats

    Tiny ultrathin scales on some moth wings absorb sound waves sent out by bats on the hunt.

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  17. Astronomy

    One of Earth’s shimmering dust clouds has been spotted at last

    Almost 60 years after a Polish astronomer spotted clouds of dust orbiting Earth near the moon, astronomers have detected those clouds again.

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  18. Earth

    A massive crater hides beneath Greenland’s ice

    The discovery of a vast crater in Greenland suggests that a 1-kilometer-wide asteroid hit the Earth between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.

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