Welcome to the “Science News” update from Hawaii Science Digest.
Views expressed in this science and technology news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.
Content, including text, photos, images, and video, provided by “Science News.”
Accessed on 23 June 2019, 0705 UTC.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org
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NEWS
Parasites ruin some finches’ songs by chewing through the birds’ beaks
Parasitic fly larvae damage the beaks of Galápagos finches, changing their mating songs and possibly causing females to pick males of a different species.
NEWS
The cosmic ‘Cow’ may be a strange supernova
New observations suggest the strange bright burst called the ‘Cow’ was a supernova, rather than a shredded star.
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NEWS
How NASA’s portable atomic clock could revolutionize space travel
An atomic clock designed to enable self-driving spaceships and GPS-like navigation on other planets is about to take a yearlong test flight.
FEATURE
How seafood shells could help solve the plastic waste problem
Chitin and chitosan from crustacean shells could put a dent in the world’s plastic waste problem.
NEWS
Lost wallets are more likely to be returned if they hold cash
Worldwide, return rates of lost wallets goes up as the money inside increases, contradicting the idea that people act in their own self-interest.
NEWS IN BRIEF
U.S. honeybees had the worst winter die-off in more than a decade
Colonies suffered from parasitic, disease-spreading Varroa mites. Floods and fire didn’t help.
NEWS
The world’s fisheries are incredibly intertwined, thanks to baby fish
A computer simulation reveals how one nation’s management of its fish spawning grounds could significantly help or hurt another country’s catch.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Mice and bats’ brains sync up as they interact with their own kind
The brain activity of mice and bats aligns in social settings, a coordination that may hold clues about how social context influences behavior.
NEWS
DNA confirms a weird Greenland whale was a narwhal-beluga hybrid
DNA analysis of a skull indicates that the animal had a narwhal mother and beluga father.
50 YEARS AGO
50 years ago, bulletproof armor was getting light enough to wear
In 1969, bulletproof armor used boron carbide fibers. Fifty years later, bulletproof armor is drastically lighter and made from myriad materials.
NEWS IN BRIEF
This body-on-a-chip mimics how organs and cancer cells react to drugs
The multiorgan system could help test new and existing drugs for effectiveness and unwanted side effects.
NEWS
Cold War–era spy satellite images show Himalayan glaciers are melting fast
Declassified spy satellite photographs reveal that glacier melt in the Himalayas has sped up dramatically in the last two decades.
FOR DAILY USE
A computer model explains how to make perfectly smooth crepes
Here’s how to prepare thin pancakes that are perfectly smooth, according to science.
NEWS IN BRIEF
‘Sneezing’ plants may spread pathogens to their neighbors
A “surface tension catapult” can fling dewdrops carrying fungal spores from water-repellent leaves.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Rotavirus vaccines may lower kids’ chances of getting type 1 diabetes
Vaccination against rotavirus is associated with a reduced incidence of type 1 diabetes in children, according to an analysis of U.S. insurance data.
NEWS
Female rats face sex bias too
In neurobiological studies, male lab animals tend to outnumber females, which are considered too hormonal. Scientists say it’s time for that myth to go.
NEWS
Hyenas roamed the Arctic during the last ice age
Two teeth confirm the idea that hyenas crossed the Bering land bridge into North America, a study finds.
NEWS
Norovirus close-ups might help fight stomach flu
Detailed views of a common stomach virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea could aid vaccine and disinfectant development.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Diamond detectors could aid the search for dark matter
Elusive dark matter particles could be spotted when they slam into electrons or atomic nuclei within diamond, scientists say.
NEWS
Is a long-dormant Russian volcano waking up? It’s complicated
Scientists debate how to interpret seismic activity near Bolshaya Udina on the remote Kamchatka Peninsula.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Table salt may be hiding in Europa’s underground sea
Observations of Europa by the Hubble Space Telescope suggest that the moon’s ice-covered ocean may hold sodium chloride, or common table salt.
NEWS
Many of the world’s rivers are flush with dangerous levels of antibiotics
Antibiotic pollution can fuel drug resistance in microbes. A global survey of rivers finds unsafe levels of antibiotics in 16 percent of sites.
NEWS
Massive superflares have been seen erupting from stars like the sun
Older stars, like the sun, can still send out massive bursts of energy that can be seen from light-years away.
