BREAK UP About a year ago, a massive iceberg calved off of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf (left). Since then, it has stayed in the area (right), bumping up against an elevated ice promontory (star).
Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory
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Magazine
In the July 21 SN: Portraits of a galaxy’s ecosystem, sleep and Alzheimer’s, poliovirus vs. glioblastoma, Parker Solar Probe previewed, mind-reading robots, a new ancient gibbon and more.
Life & Evolution
Topic Image Rail
CRETACEOUS CRITTER Meet Akainacephalus johnsoni, a newly discovered armored dinosaur species that roamed Utah more than 70 million years ago.
Andrey Atuchin/DMNS
GOTCHA A new machine, shaped sort of like a five-fingered arcade claw, gently encloses soft-bodied sea creatures (like this cephalopod) to study before releasing them, unharmed, back into the ocean.
Z.E. Teoh et al/Science Robotics 2018
Life & Evolution
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Animals
Introducing
A new ankylosaur found in Utah had a surprisingly bumpy head
The spiky, fossilized skull of a newly discovered dinosaur species may be a road map to its ancestors’ journey to North America.News
New ‘Poké Ball’ robot catches deep-sea critters without harming them
A machine that gently catches and releases animals underwater could help researchers take a more detailed census of the deep sea. -
Plants
News
The most ancient African baobabs are dying and no one knows why
Scientists aren’t sure what’s killing the oldest African baobabs, nine of which have lost big chunks or died in the last 13 years.Feature
Meet the speedsters of the plant world
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye. -
Microbes
Science TickerThis plastic-gobbling enzyme just got an upgrade
Scientists tweaked a bacterial enzyme and made it more efficient in breaking down plastics found in polyester and plastic bottles.News in Brief
This material uses energy from ambient light to kill hospital superbugs
A quantum dot–powered material could help reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections, including those with drug-resistant bacteria. -
Fungi
News
A deadly fungus is infecting snake species seemingly at random
A fungal disease doesn’t appear to discriminate among snake species, suggesting many of the reptiles may be at risk.Science TickerHow a mushroom gets its glow
For the first time, biologists have pinpointed the compound that lights up in fungal bioluminescence. -
Conservation
Science TickerShipping noise can disturb porpoises and disrupt their mealtime
Noise from ships may disturb harbor porpoises enough to keep them from getting the food they need.News
Light pollution can foil plant-insect hookups, and not just at night
Upsetting nocturnal pollinators has daylight after-effects for Swiss meadow flowers. -
Evolution
Reviews & Previews
Skeletons come in many shapes and sizes
In Skeletons, two paleobiologists recount how and why skeletons evolved, as well as the variety of forms they take and the many purposes they serve.Reviews & Previews
Fossils sparked Charles Darwin’s imagination
Darwin’s Fossils recounts how finding extinct species in South America helped Charles Darwin develop his theory of evolution. -
Ecology
Wild ThingsMadagascar’s predators are probably vulnerable to toxic toads
The Asian common toad, an invasive species in Madagascar, produces a toxin in its skin that’s probably toxic to most of the island’s predators.50 Years Ago
50 years ago, invasive species traveled the Suez Canal
Hundreds of Red Sea species used the Suez Canal to migrate to the Mediterranean Sea, leading to the decline of some native species. -
Paleontology
News in Brief
This amber nugget from Myanmar holds the first known baby snake fossil
Amber preserves the delicate bone structure of a 99 million year old baby snake.News
An ancient swimming revolution in the oceans may have never happened
Swimmers may not have suddenly dominated the oceans during the Devonian Period after all: New analyses suggest they took over much more gradually. -
Biophysics
News in Brief
Why cracking your knuckles can be so noisy
Knuckles crack due to the partial collapse of bubbles in joint fluid, a new study suggests.News
Earwigs take origami to extremes to fold their wings
Stretchy joints let earwig wings flip quickly between folded and unfurled.
