May 26, 2018View Digital Issue
Features
Feature
Chances are your DNA doesn’t contain dark secrets. But there may be lots of variety in results from testing company to company.
Feature
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.
Call to Action
Editor's Note
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses how genetic testing might not be reliable enough for people to plan for the future.
Features
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.
Chances are your DNA doesn’t contain dark secrets. But there may be lots of variety in results from testing company to company.
News
Footprints of humans and giant sloths show a dramatic chase sequence from more than 10,000 years ago.
Before performing skull operations on people, ancient surgeons may have rehearsed on cows.
Using a DNA study and genetic engineering, researchers tripled the amount of an antimalarial compound naturally produced by sweet wormwood plants.
The structure of telomerase, described with the greatest detail yet, may give researchers clues to cancer treatments and other telomerase-related illnesses.
The InSight lander is launching to Mars on May 5 and is expected to be in position to sense seismic activity by early 2019.
Concerns about bioterrorism fueled the development of the first treatment for smallpox.
The Gaia spacecraft’s latest data release brings the number of stars with precisely measured motions up from 2 million to more than 1.3 billion.
Rising temperatures are making ocean waters farther north more hospitable for a variety of marine species.
Scientists find the first clear evidence of rapid cooling of a neutron star by neutrino emission.
A new fossil of Ichthyornis dispar helped scientists create a 3-D reconstruction of the ancient bird’s skull, shedding light on early bird evolution.
A new kind of polymer is fully recyclable: It breaks down into the exact same molecules that it came from.
Farming histories have shaped behavior in northern and southern China.
Shooting mineral pellets at a simulated planet suggests an impact wouldn’t have boiled all of an asteroid’s water away.
Scientists entangled the motions of two jiggling devices that are visible with a magnifying glass or even the naked eye — if you have keen vision.
Faking that erratic bee flight or no-nonsense wasp zoom might save a moth’s life.
The August 2017 solar eclipse launched a wave in the upper atmosphere that was detected from Brazil after the eclipse ended.
A 2017 South Korean earthquake may have been caused by human activities, two new studies suggest.
Notebook
TB-sniffing rats prove more accurate in detecting infection, especially in children, than the most commonly used diagnostic tool.
Many people misunderstand what private web browsing actually is. Web browsers’ explanations don’t help.
Only 17 dusky seaside sparrows remained in 1968. Today, there are none.
Reviews & Previews
A Science News reporter tried out three consumer genetic testing companies to see what people really learn about their health.
Letters to the Editor
Readers had questions about the latest findings of Jupiter, giant viruses being recognized as a new kingdom of life and tardigrade poop.
Science Visualized
In some STEM fields, the gender gap won’t disappear for decades or even centuries, a new study suggests.