Vol. 196 No. 6

Reviews & Previews

Science Visualized

Notebook

Features

More Stories from the September 28, 2019 issue

  1. Jupiter
    Space

    5 of Jupiter’s newly discovered moons received names in a public contest

    Astronomers first announced the discovery of the worlds in July 2018, and have now named them for goddesses and spirits of Greek and Roman mythology.

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  2. money and marijuana
    Health & Medicine

    Marijuana and meth are getting more popular in America, but cocaine has declined

    In 2006, drug users spent more on cocaine than on heroin, marijuana or methamphetamine. By 2016, marijuana expenditures had exceeded the other drugs.

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  3. carbon nanotubes
    Tech

    A chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone

    Silicon’s reign in cutting-edge electronics may soon over. The carbon nanotube could be its successor.

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  4. magnetic field lines
    Space

    Iron sulfide may be keeping Mercury’s core toasty and its magnetic field alive

    New estimates of how much heat Mercury’s core loses could explain why the tiny world has a long-lived magnetic field.

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  5. peanuts
    Health & Medicine

    Liquid mouth drops could one day protect people from peanut allergies

    An immune treatment given as liquid mouth drops helped allergic children eat the equivalent of a few peanuts without having a reaction.

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  6. pancreatic cancer cells
    Health & Medicine

    Pancreatic cancer tumors attack the blood vessels that deliver chemo drugs

    Pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible to treat, but now we may know why. New research shows that the tumors destroy nearby blood vessels, making it harder for drugs to reach them.

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  7. stalactites
    Earth

    Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world

    The Pliocene era cave formations on the Spanish coast of Mallorca offer hints about how oceans could respond to human-driven climate change.

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  8. guy vaping
    Humans

    Vaping is suspected in a fifth death and hundreds of injuries

    U.S. health officials can’t yet point to a substance or device that’s behind a rising number of severe lung injuries and deaths tied to e-cigarettes.

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  9. skyrmions
    Physics

    A new magnetic swirl, or skyrmion, could upgrade data storage

    Magnetic whorls in a new type of material could be easier to control than their predecessors.

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  10. pulsar orbiting neutron star
    Space

    Einstein’s general relativity reveals new features of a pulsar

    Measurements that rely on the physicist’s theory of gravity are letting astronomers view a pulsar in ‘a whole new way.’

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  11. koala
    Life

    Fecal transplants might help make koalas less picky eaters

    Poop-transplant pills changed the microbial makeup of koalas’ guts. That could allow the animals to adapt when a favorite type of eucalyptus runs low.

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  12. brain cells
    Neuroscience

    Clumps of cells in the lab spontaneously formed brain waves

    Nerve cells fired coordinated signals in brain organoids, 3-D clusters of cells that mimic some aspects of early brain development.

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  13. stone points
    Humans

    Stone tools may place some of the first Americans in Idaho 16,500 years ago

    Newly discovered stone artifacts support the idea that North America’s first settlers traveled down the Pacific coast and then turned eastward.

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  14. Denisovan finger bone
    Anthropology

    This ancient Denisovan finger bone is surprisingly humanlike

    Despite Neandertal ties, extinct hominids called Denisovans had a touching link to humans, a new study finds.

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  15. theoretical superconductor
    Physics

    A predicted superconductor might work at a record-breaking 200° Celsius

    A material made of hydrogen, lithium and magnesium and squeezed to high pressures may be a superconductor even at especially high temperatures.

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  16. dogs
    Life

    Human meddling has manipulated the shapes of different dog breeds’ brains

    By analyzing the shape of different dog breeds’ brains, researchers show how humans have manipulated the animals’ brain anatomy.

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  17. qutrit
    Physics

    Quantum physicists have teleported ‘qutrits’ for the first time

    The technique could be useful for creating a future quantum internet.

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  18. a photo of a person smoking marijuana
    Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists warned of marijuana’s effects on the unborn

    In 1969, scientists warned about prenatal marijuana exposure. Researchers today are still untangling drug’s effect on fetuses.

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