Vol. 195 No. 9
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More Stories from the May 11, 2019 issue

  1. Materials Science

    Bacteria can be coaxed into making the toughest kind of spider silk

    Lab-altered bacteria have made a copy of a spider’s strongest silk strands, which could one day be used to make more sturdy materials.

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  2. Math

    Mathematicians may have found the fastest way to multiply huge numbers

    A new theoretical method for multiplying enormous figures appears to achieve a speed first predicted decades ago.

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  3. Animals

    Cats recognize their own names

    A new study suggests that cats can tell their names apart from other spoken words.

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  4. Astronomy

    This planetary remnant somehow survived the death of its sun

    A small, sturdy piece of planet survived the collapse of its sun and now orbits the dead star.

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  5. Life

    How emus and ostriches lost the ability to fly

    Changes in regulatory DNA, rather than mutations to genes themselves, grounded some birds, a study finds.

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  6. Paleontology

    Peruvian fossils yield a four-legged otterlike whale with hooves

    A newly discovered species of ancient whale unearthed in Peru split time between land and sea.

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  7. Earth

    How deadly, fast-moving flows of volcanic rock and gas cheat friction

    Mixtures of hot volcanic rock and gas called pyroclastic flows travel so far by gliding on air, a new study suggests.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    A common food additive may make the flu vaccine less effective

    A food preservative may impair the ability to fight the flu, a study in mice suggests.

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  9. Science & Society

    Why some low-income neighborhoods are better than others

    Levels of violence, incarceration and lead exposure in a neighborhood can predict a low-income child’s future earnings and outcome, a study suggests.

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  10. Anthropology

    A new hominid species has been found in a Philippine cave, fossils suggest

    Cave fossils found in the Philippines come from a newly discovered member of the human lineage, researchers say.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    NASA’s Twins Study reveals effects of space on Scott Kelly’s health

    Ten research groups studying the twin astronauts found long-term spaceflight can alter a person’s physiology and gene activity.

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  12. Materials Science

    A new graphene foam stays squishy at the coldest temperatures

    Researchers have now made a material that is superelastic even at extremely cold temperatures, which could be helpful in space.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    People with stress disorders like PTSD are at higher risk of heart disease

    Those coping with psychological trauma have a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, a large-scale study that goes beyond men and veterans finds.

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  14. Archaeology

    Newly translated Cherokee cave writings reveal sacred messages

    Cherokee inscriptions highlight the tribe’s rituals nearly 200 years ago in what’s now a tourist cave in Alabama.

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  15. Genetics

    Some people may have genes that hamper a drug’s HIV protection

    Newly discovered genetic variants could explain why an anti-HIV medication doesn’t protect everyone.

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  16. Planetary Science

    Saturn’s moon Titan sports phantom hydrocarbon lakes

    Three lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan have pulled a vanishing act, a study finds.

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  17. Climate

    Tiny microplastics travel far on the wind

    Airborne bits of plastic that originated in cities ended up in pristine mountains at least 95 kilometers away, a study finds.

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  18. Planetary Science

    Meteor showers dig up water on the moon

    Meteorites release water from the moon’s soil, hinting that the moon has water buried all across its surface.

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  19. Genetics

    A genetic scorecard could predict your risk of being obese

    A genetic score predicts who is at risk of severe obesity, but experts say lifestyle matters more than genes.

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  20. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists tried to transplant part of a human eye

    In 1969, a doctor tried and failed to restore a 54-year-old man’s vision. Fifty years later, scientists are still struggling to make eye transplants work.

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