The Great American Eclipse is finally here! Be sure to wear certified eclipse glasses when looking at the sun, and check out the links below for more info.
K. Travis
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Magazine
In the Aug. 19 SN: Bulletins from the tick wars, roots of Rwandan genocide, spin-resistant spiders, making mums blue, tardigrade saga continues, HIV antibodies from cows, Maxwell’s demon aces memory test and more.
Humans & Society
Topic Image Rail
THE KITCHEN SINK There are a lot of ways to study the sun, as shown in this multi-wavelength mosaic from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. During the eclipse, physicists will take every possible route to figuring out why the corona is so hot.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
FICKLE FLAMES Streamers and filaments encircled most of the sun during a solar eclipse in 2016, when the sun’s activity was waning. The Aug. 21 solar eclipse will show physicists what the corona looks like when solar activity has quieted down even more.
© 2016 Constantinos Emmanoulidis, Miloslav Druckmüller
Humans & Society
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Ancestry
News
Pacific islanders got a double whammy of Stone Age DNA
Neandertal and Denisovan genes influence the health of present-day Melanesians.News
Human DNA found in a Neandertal woman
Interbreeding between humans and Neandertals happened earlier than thought, leaving traces in the Neandertal genome. -
Anthropology
Science TickerAncient people arrived in Sumatra’s rainforests more than 60,000 years ago
Humans reached Indonesia not long after leaving Africa.News
Infant ape’s tiny skull could have a big impact on ape evolution
Fossil comes from a lineage that had ties to the ancestor of modern apes and humans, researchers argue. -
Archaeology
News
Humans first settled in Australia as early as 65,000 years ago
Australia may have said “G’day” to humankind thousands of years earlier than previously believed.News in Brief
Copper in Ötzi the Iceman’s ax came from surprisingly far away
Copper for the ancient Iceman’s blade traveled about 500 kilometers to his northern Italian home region. -
Psychology
Feature
A look at Rwanda’s genocide helps explain why ordinary people kill their neighbors
New research on the 1994 Rwanda genocide overturns assumptions about why people participate in genocide. A sense of duty, not blind obedience, drives many perpetrators.News
African farmers’ kids conquer the marshmallow test
Nso farmers in Cameroon groom kids for self-control that Western peers often lack. -
Science & Society
Science TickerToday is the day! A last-minute guide for watching the Great American Eclipse
You’ve probably heard this already, but there’s a total solar eclipse traversing the United States today, August 21. Here’s what you need to know.The Science Life
To combat cholera in Yemen, one scientist goes back to basics
As the cholera epidemic rages on in war-torn Yemen, basic hygiene is the first line of defense. -
Networks
Letters to the EditorReaders respond to terrorism's roots
Readers respond to the July 9, 2016, issue of Science News with questions on terrorism, dog evolution and more.News
Monitoring online groups offers insight into ISIS attacks
Targeting online groups may be key to limiting the digital reach of ISIS. -
Language
News
Oldest alphabet identified as Hebrew
Contested study indicates ancient Israelites developed first alphabet from Egyptian hieroglyphics.ContextTom Wolfe’s denial of language evolution stumbles over his own words
Tom Wolfe’s book denies that language evolved and attacks Darwin and Chomsky with smugness lacking substance. -
History of Science
Reviews & Previews
This history book offers excellent images but skimps on modern science
For an accessible account of mostly pre-20th century science, check out The Oxford Illustrated History of Science.Editor's NoteDive deep to discover unexpected connections
Readers often praise Science News for its brevity. But some ideas need more space, writes acting editor in chief Elizabeth Quill. -
Human Evolution
News
Homo naledi’s brain shows humanlike features
South African Homo species had small but humanlike brain, scientists say.Feature
Animal hybrids may hold clues to Neandertal-human interbreeding
The physical effects of interbreeding among animals may offer clues to Neandertals’ genetic mark on humans. -
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