The tales of two ornithologists trying to prevent birds colliding with windows highlight the obstacles facing applied biology.
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Magazine
In the April 14 SN: Killer heat, mass insect migrations, the latest Saturn updates, rethinking the Nobel Prize, tectonics on Venus, the science of mass shootings, ancient tool trends and more.
- Feature
Collision Course
The tales of two ornithologists trying to prevent birds colliding with windows highlight the obstacles facing applied biology. - Feature
The Tune Wreckers
People who can’t carry a tune, or can but think they can’t, are a rich resource for researchers studying musical ability. - People
Seeking the loneliest whale
An enigmatic whale roams the North Pacific, and next year Bruce Mate will lead a monthlong expedition to find it. - News
Tiny human almost-brains made in lab
Largely left to their own devices, human stem cells knitted themselves into tissue with a multitude of brain structures and specialized cadres of neurons in a form reminiscent of the brain of a nine-week-old fetus, scientists report August 28 in Nature.
The tissue doesn’t approach the dizzying complexity of the human brain. Yet these tiny neural balls, each no bigger than a BB pellet, represent the most complex brain structure grown in a lab to date, researchers say. The new work could provide an unprecedented window into the early s
- News in Brief
Bats can carry MERS
DNA of a deadly respiratory virus has been found in a Saudi Arabian mammal. - News in Brief
NASA gives up on fixing Kepler
Space telescope’s days as a premier planet hunter are over. - News
Breakups maintain barchan dune fields, somehow
Two new theories try to explain how the crescent-shaped sand mountains persist. - News in Brief
Don't stand so close to me
Personal space has a measurable boundary, a study suggests. - News
Birds know road speed limits
Crows, house sparrows and other species judge when to flee the asphalt by average traffic rates rather than an oncoming car's speed. - News
Toylike blocks make lightweight, strong structures
Bucking trend toward reducing numbers of parts, MIT engineers suggest building planes from thousands of identical pieces.