Earth
‘Eruption’ looks back at devastating Mount St. Helens blast
In Eruption, a science writer recounts the societal, economic and geologic forces that contributed to the Mount St. Helens disaster.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Gravitational waves explained
Colliding black holes send ripples through spacetime that can be detected here on Earth. What are these gravitational waves, and how did Advanced LIGO detect them?
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Neuroscience
Brain cells aglow after viral delivery
The virus AAV-PHP.B proves best at delivering genes to brain cells in mice. Similar viruses may eventually be used for gene therapy in humans.
Notebook
Animals
Meet the tarantula in black
Named for Johnny Cash, a new species of tarantula makes its home in the shadow of Folsom Prison.
More Stories from the March 5, 2016 issue
- Tech
Tracking health is no sweat with new device
New all-in-one electronic device can detect and analyze your temperature and four chemicals in your sweat.
- Archaeology
Babylonians used geometry to track Jupiter’s movements
Babylonians took a geometric leap to track Jupiter’s movements long before European astronomers did.
- Genetics
Mice can be male without Y chromosome
Researchers bypass the Y chromosome to make male mice.
- Climate
Phytoplankton rapidly disappearing from the Indian Ocean
Phytoplankton populations in the Indian Ocean fell 30 percent over the last 16 years largely due to global warming, new research suggests.
- Life
Removing worn-out cells makes mice live longer and prosper
Senescent cells promote aging, and removing them makes mice live longer, healthier lives.
- Neuroscience
Mouse study offers clues to brain’s response to concussions
The brain needs time to recover between head hits, a study in mice suggests.
- Animals
White-tailed deer have their own form of malaria
The otherwise well-studied white-tailed deer turns out to carry the first malaria parasite discovered in any deer.
- Neuroscience
Cancer drug’s usefulness against Alzheimer’s disputed
A preliminary report questions the anti-Alzheimer’s activity of a cancer-fighting drug.
- Particle Physics
Physicists find signs of four-neutron nucleus
Strong evidence of a tetraneutron, an atomic nucleus with four neutrons but no protons, defies physicists’ theoretical expectations.
- Environment
Urban heat islands exist even in the Arctic
Arctic cities are a source of warming in the far north. Unlike midlatitude heat islands, poorly insulated buildings — not the sun — are a primary source.
- Physics
Gravity waves from black holes verify Einstein’s prediction
Gravitational waves, tremors in the cosmic fabric of space and time predicted by Einstein a century ago, have finally been detected, opening a new avenue for exploring the universe.
- Genetics
Neandertal DNA may raise risk for some modern human diseases
Neandertal DNA may once have helped humans, but now may contribute to disease.
- Earth
New app puts an earthquake detector in your pocket
Smartphone app MyShake uses motion-sensing accelerometers to detect nearby quakes. The app could provide early warnings of incoming tremors, its creators say.
- Environment
Vaping linked to host of new health risks
Animal studies and analyses of gene activity point to broad range of potential new health risks from vaping affecting everything from sperm to heart and immunity to mental health.
- Neuroscience
Early exposure to signing helps deaf kids on mental task
Deaf kids exposed to sign language from birth performed better on a task that required attention and impulse control.
- Astronomy
Planets may emerge from stellar duo gathering icy dust
Gas freezing onto dust grains around a binary star could be setting up a site where comets or even planets might someday form.
- Neuroscience
Tiny bare-bones brains made in lab dishes
A reliable way to make standard-issue minibrains could help scientists study the human brain.
- Tech
New clues illuminate mysteries of ancient Egyptian portraits
New analyses shed light on how ancient Egyptian “mummy paintings” were made.
- Life
Memory cells enhance strategy for fighting blood cancers
Immune therapy made more powerful with memory T cells.
- Chemistry
After 75 years, plutonium is still NASA’s fuel of choice
On the 75th anniversary of the discovery of plutonium, the radioactive element is still not a major source of fuel for nuclear power plants in the United States.
- Genetics
Prion disease gets personal
Diagnosis of a brain-wasting disease drove a married couple into science.
- Psychology
Psychologist probes possible link between prodigy, autism
The Prodigy’s Cousin explores the baffling world of child prodigies and people with autism.
- Genetics
DNA may determine if you’re an early bird or night owl
Morning people are more likely to have certain variations in their DNA, but less likely to have insomnia or sleep apnea.
- Tech
Machine triumphs in strategy game
For the first time, a computer has beat a professional human player in the strategy game Go.
