In the May 3 SN: Homesick pythons, insect-repellent zebras, a brouhaha over antibiotics and a taxonomic assault on the fungal kingdom.
May 3, 2014
Benh Lieu Song/FLICKR (cc by-SA 3.0)
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Magazine
In the June 23 SN: Emmy Noether gets her due, the 411 on ancestry testing, bonobo birthing buddies, a mysterious neutrino surplus, the oldest known lizard fossil, genetic genealogy in police work, Pluto’s dunes and more.
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Unsolved drugs
Long thought to launch precision attacks against bacteria, antibiotics may also cause lethal collateral damage, according to a controversial theory. Exploring how these compounds kill may reveal new ways to fight antibiotic resistance. - News in Brief
A tale of touching tubes
Mathematicians solve the challenge of putting seven cylinders in contact without using their ends. - Feature
The name of the fungus
A rebellion has broken out against the traditional way of naming species in the peculiar, shape-shifting world of fungi. - News in Brief
When hummingbirds fly unfriendly skies
Hummingbirds hover easily in turbulent air as long as the disturbances aren’t too wide. - News
Subsurface sea hides below ice of Saturn moon
Astronomers add to evidence for a subsurface ocean on Enceladus using subtle variations in the moon’s gravity. - News
Ten thousand neurons linked to behaviors in fly
By studying the wiggles of 37,780 fly larvae, scientists link specific neurons to 29 distinct behaviors. - How Bizarre
One giant leap for zit-causing microbes
A bacterium that lives on humans and causes acne also hopped to domesticated grapevines and relies on the plant for crucial DNA repairs. - Science Visualized
Distant swirling galaxy dwarfed by violent star killer
In a mosaic of images from a telescope in Chile, dark dust lanes and twisting tails betray a history of galactic collisions. - News
Bank voles provide clue to prion disease susceptibility
A protein from bank voles makes mice susceptible to disorders that wouldn’t otherwise infect them. - News
Light filter lets rays through from only one direction
Angle-sensitive light filter could improve photography, telescopes and solar energy harvesting.