Giant crystals inside the Naica mine in Chihuahua, Mexico

In the March 18 SN: Virtual reality’s motion sickness problem, when good nudges go bad, a dwarf star with seven planets, Zika DNA vaccines, the case for Zealandia, helium defies stereotypes, stinkbugs spoil red wine, forest biodiversity in color and more.

March 18, 2017

FROM LEFT: South_agency/iStockphoto; ALEXANDER VAN DRIESSCHE/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CC BY 3.0)

Archives

Feature

Nudging people to make good choices can backfire

Steering people’s decisions with simple nudges, such as e-mail reminders or opt-out programs, can come with a downside.

3 months ago

Psychology,
Science & Society
Feature

Virtual reality has a motion sickness problem

Virtual reality games and experiences can make some people sick, and women are more susceptible.

3 months ago

Technology,
Health,
Science & Society
News

Seven Earth-sized planets orbit nearby supercool star

A planetary system called TRAPPIST-1 has seven Earth-sized planets, three in the habitable zone, researchers report.

4 months ago

Exoplanets,
Astronomy
The Science Life

Fleets of drones could pollinate future crops

Chemist Eijiro Miyako turned a lab failure into a way to rethink artificial pollination.

3 months ago

Agriculture,
Robotics,
Ecology
Science Visualized

Mapping rainforest chemistry from the air reveals 36 types of forest

Aircraft analysis of tree chemicals reveals new biodiversity in the Peruvian rainforest.

4 months ago

Ecology
Science Stats

Too many stinkbugs spoil the wine

Stinkbugs can ruin wine if enough are accidentally processed alive with the grapes. Three or fewer stinkbugs per grape cluster don’t have a noticeable effect on red wine.

4 months ago

Animals,
Agriculture
News

Helium’s inertness defied by high-pressure compound

At pressures over a million atmospheres, helium reacts with sodium.

4 months ago

Chemistry
Reviews & Previews

Invasive species, climate change threaten Great Lakes

In The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, a journalist chronicles the lakes’ downward spiral and slow revival.

3 months ago

Ecosystems,
Climate,
Science & Society
News

Newly identified continent Zealandia faces a battle for recognition

Geologists make the case for a new continent, dubbed Zealandia, found largely submerged beneath the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

4 months ago

Earth
The Name Game

Coral reef crab named after Harry Potter characters

Bizarre rubble-dwelling crab named after critter collector and Harry Potter characters.

4 months ago

Animals