Life
‘Life as We Made It’ charts the past and future of genetic tinkering
A new book shatters illusions that human meddling with nature has only just begun.
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Cover Story
A new particle accelerator aims to unlock secrets of bizarre atomic nuclei
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams will help scientists unlock the inner workings of atomic nuclei and explore how elements formed in the cosmos.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Materials Science
These colorful butterflies were created using transparent ink
See-through printer ink can create a whole spectrum of colors when printed in precise, microscale patterns.
Notebook
Anthropology
How catching birds bare-handed may hint at Neandertals’ hunting tactics
By pretending to be Neandertals, researchers show that the ancient hominids likely had the skills to easily hunt crowlike birds called choughs.
Features
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COVID-19 testing in schools works. So why aren’t more doing it?
School COVID-19 testing programs can keep kids in class and safe, but face challenges ranging from deciding on a testing strategy to parental buy-in.
More Stories from the November 20, 2021 issue
- Astronomy
Astronomers may have spotted the first known exoplanet in another galaxy
The spiral-shaped Whirlpool galaxy may be the host of the first planet spotted outside of the Milky Way.
- Particle Physics
Doubt cast on theorized ‘sterile’ particles leaves a neutrino mystery unsolved
MicroBooNE weakens the case for sterile neutrinos, but the mystery that shrouded earlier neutrino experiments remains.
- Astronomy
Space rocks may have bounced off baby Earth, but slammed into Venus
New simulations suggest a way to help explain dramatic differences between the sibling worlds.
- Physics
An atomic clock measured how general relativity warps time across a millimeter
A record-breaking result reveals the precision achievable by atomic clocks, letting researchers detect slightly faster ticking over a tiny height change.
- Life
How these sea-loving mangroves ended up far from the coast
On the Yucatán Peninsula, mangroves trapped nearly 200 kilometers from the ocean are part of a “relict ecosystem” that’s more than 100,000 years old.
- Animals
Barnacles are famed for not budging. But one species roams its sea turtle hosts
Once settled and glued to the substrate, adult barnacles stay put. But turtle barnacles upend this trend, sliding slowly across their reptilian rides.
- Animals
Flamingos dye their sun-faded feathers to stay pretty in pink
During mating season, flamingos rub a makeup-like rouge on their necks to catch the eye of the opposite sex. They don’t bother once chicks are born.
- Earth
Here’s how ice needles sculpt patterns into cold, rocky landscapes
Striking stone patterns decorate remote, frigid landscapes. The recipe for these naturally forming stripes and swirls: Freeze, thaw, repeat.
- Archaeology
Lidar reveals a possible blueprint for many Olmec and Maya ceremonial sites
An Olmec site forged a building plan more than 3,000 years ago for widespread Olmec and Maya ritual centers across Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
- Animals
Tuskless elephants became common as an evolutionary response to poachers
After poachers tore through a Mozambican elephant population, tuskless females tripled in number as humans altered the species’s evolutionary trajectory.
- Animals
Scientists found modern domestic horses’ homeland in southwestern Russia
Two genes tied to endurance and docility may help explain the horses’ success in spreading across Eurasia.
- Archaeology
Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021
Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland.
- Archaeology
The earliest evidence of tobacco use dates to over 12,000 years ago
Burned seeds at an archaeological site in Utah hint at tobacco’s popularity long before it was domesticated.
- Animals
An agile gecko found in India named after the legendary Jackie Chan
A hard-to-catch gecko species is named after martial artist Jackie Chan. Skin patterns, like one resembling a galaxy, inspire other newfound geckos’ names.
- Physics
Here’s the physics of why ducklings swim in a row behind their mother
By paddling in just the right spots, ducklings save energy by surfing their mom’s waves, and pass along the benefit to siblings down the line.
- Astronomy
The fastest-spinning white dwarf ever seen rotates once every 25 seconds
A white dwarf star that spins every 25 seconds owes its record-breaking rotation rate to a companion star dumping gas onto it.
