Science & Society
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Ecosystems
City spiders may spin low-vibe webs
Spider webs built on human-made materials have less background bounce than those built on trees and other natural surfaces, which might shrink the arachnid’s hunting success.
- Science & Society
Domestic violence arrests may be counterproductive
Mandatory arrest laws may increase mortality rates, especially among employed black women.
- Astronomy
NASA releases 2015 budget with some mission cuts
NASA $17.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2015 supports big missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope. But there are plans to put the SOFIA telescope in storage.
- Science & Society
Alternatives needed to do-it-yourself feces swaps
Three researchers are calling for the FDA to regulate feces as a human tissue rather than a drug to make it easier for doctors to perform fecal transplants.
- Psychology
Lend an ear to science
Pop music hit maker Clive Davis knows a catchy song when he hears one. Now an app aims to define that elusive quality more concretely.
- Chemistry
X-rays uncover hidden faces in Rembrandt painting
Lead paint under the surface of the work gives away the artist’s indecisiveness.
- Health & Medicine
Introducing the first bank of feces
A new nonprofit called OpenBiome is hoping to do for fecal transplants what blood banks have done for transfusions. It’s a kind of Brown Cross.
- Earth
The Sixth Extinction
On only five occasions in Earth’s long history has a large fraction of the planet’s biodiversity disappeared in a geological instant. But, journalist Kolbert reminds us in her new book, we are well on our way to making it six.
- Science & Society
Naturalists at Sea
For centuries after Columbus, the flora and fauna of the New World remained a mystery to Europeans. But in the 1600s and 1700s, explorers began to visit and describe what were then considered remote corners of the Earth.
- Science & Society
Figure skating judges get a 10 for duplicity
Sport’s reform efforts have resulted in more nationalistic bias and vote trading.
- Science & Society
In a nuclear attack, there’s no avoiding the brutal math
Knowing a few key numbers could help save your life if a nuclear bomb drops.
- Science & Society
Forty finalists selected in 2014 Intel Science Talent Search
The 40 young scientists will visit Washington, D.C., March 6–12 to tour the White House and other national landmarks, present their research to judges and the public in a poster session at the headquarters of the National Geographic Society and attend a black-tie awards gala at the National Building Museum.
