Vol. 201 No. 6

Reviews & Previews

Science Visualized

Notebook

Features

More Stories from the March 26, 2022 issue

  1. illustration of a giant crocodile eating a dinosaur
    Paleontology

    Fossils show a crocodile ancestor dined on a young dinosaur

    The 100-million-year-old fossil of a crocodile ancestor contains the first indisputable evidence that dinosaurs were on the menu.

    By
  2. an ancient bishop's headgear which was stiffened by manuscripts
    Archaeology

    A technique borrowed from ecology hints at hundreds of lost medieval legends

    An ecology-based statistical approach may provide a storybook ending for efforts to gauge ancient cultural diversity.

    By
  3. a photo of a jojoba shrub branch of with green acorn shaped seeds hanging off of it

    50 years ago, scientists thought a desert shrub might help save endangered whales

    Fifty years ago, scientists sought a sustainable alternative to prized oil from endangered sperm whales.

    By
  4. a quantum gravity sensor comprised of a black box connected to a cylinder sits on a sidewalk
    Quantum Physics

    A new gravity sensor used atoms’ weird quantum behavior to peer underground

    Quantum sensors promise to be more accurate and stable in the long run than other gravity probes.

    By
  5. scientist facing a rack of boxes of skeletal remains
    Chemistry

    One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death

    The bones of more than 100 cadavers are shedding light on a more precise and reliable way to determine when someone died.

    By
  6. a dirty kitchen sponge on a white background
    Life

    Why kitchen sponges are the perfect home for bacteria

    Sponges are remarkably diverse hot spots for bacteria, in part because of the mixed-housing environment that the tools offer their tenants.

    By
  7. photo of a child riding a bike near the shoreline in the Maldives
    Climate

    A UN report shows climate change’s escalating toll on people and nature

    The latest United Nations' IPCC climate change report underscores the urgent need for action to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.

    By
  8. illustration of a dinosaur fleeing a massive flood
    Paleontology

    The Age of Dinosaurs may have ended in springtime

    Fossilized fish bones suggest that the massive asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous Period occurred during the Northern Hemisphere’s spring.

    By
  9. a group of Dinka people sitting on the ground where one man dressed in blue holds a drum and others hold instruments
    Genetics

    Africa’s oldest human DNA helps unveil an ancient population shift

    Long-distance mate seekers started staying closer to home about 20,000 years ago.

    By
  10. aerial view of a large crater in Wyoming
    Planetary Science

    An ancient impact on Earth led to a cascade of cratering

    For the first time, scientists have discovered clusters of craters on Earth that were formed by the impacts of material thrown out of a larger crater.

    By
  11. fynbos shrubland next to lush forest on a hillside in South Africa
    Life

    Africa’s fynbos plants hold their ground with the world’s thinnest roots

    Long, thin roots help this South African shrubland commandeer soil nutrients and keep the neighboring forest from encroaching on its territory.

    By
  12. illustration of galaxy M81 next to a cluster of old stars
    Astronomy

    A fast radio burst’s unlikely source may be a cluster of old stars

    The burst’s origin in a globular cluster suggests that not all these enigmatic blasts come from young stellar populations.

    By