Welcome to the “Science News” update from Hawaii Science Digest.
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“Science News” is an official publication of the Society for Science and the Public.
Accessed on 15 July 2019, 0505 UTC.
Source: https://www.science.org
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REVIEWS & PREVIEWS
Celebrate the moon landing anniversary with books that go beyond the small step
New books about Apollo 11 and the mission to the moon offer something for everyone, from astronomy lovers to fans of graphic novels and self-improvement buffs.
GROWTH CURVE
4 DAYS AGO
SCIENCE VISUALIZED
Tiny glasses help reveal how praying mantises can see in 3-D
Newfound nerve cells in praying mantises help detect different views that each of the insects’ eyes sees, a mismatch that creates depth perception.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
NEWS
This solar-powered device produces energy and cleans water at the same time
Someday, the two-for-one machine could help curb electricity and freshwater shortages.
ESSAY
Ancient humans used the moon as a calendar in the sky
Whether the moon was a timekeeper for early humans, as first argued during the Apollo missions, is still up for debate.
NEWS
3 questions seismologists are asking after the California earthquakes
After back-to-back quakes, scientists are scrambling to figure out which faults ruptured and what it means for future California quake activity.
NEWS
Artificial intelligence has now pretty much conquered poker
A new artificial intelligence called Pluribus is a real card shark at six-player no-limit Texas Hold’em.
FEATURE
Moonlight shapes how some animals move, grow and even sing
The moon’s light influences lion prey behavior, dung beetle navigation, fish growth, mass migrations and birdsong.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Southern right whale moms and calves may whisper to evade orcas
Mother-calf whale pairs call to each other quietly to stay in touch while avoiding attracting the attention of predators, a study suggests.
NEWS IN BRIEF
An ancient bird found encased in amber had a bizarrely long toe
A 99-million-year-old fossil holds a bird with an oddly long toe, which might have helped the critter hook hard-to-reach dinners.
NEWS
Hayabusa2 may have just snagged bits of asteroid Ryugu’s insides
In its second sampling attempt, Hayabusa2 became the first spacecraft to try to pick up some of an asteroid’s guts.
NEWS
Both fish and humans have REM-like sleep
Sleeping zebrafish have brain and body activity similar to snoozing mammals, suggesting that sleep evolved at least 450 million years ago.
NEWS
A Greek skull may belong to the oldest human found outside of Africa
Humans possibly reached southeastern Europe by 210,000 years ago.
SCIENCE VISUALIZED
See how visualizations of the moon have changed over time
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, here’s a collection of images that show how the moon has been visualized over the ages.
NEWS
Moons that escape their planets could become ‘ploonets’
If giant planets in other star systems lose their moons, the freed objects could become “ploonets,” and current telescopes may be able to find them.
NEWS
A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reefs
Scientists are racing to learn what’s behind a disease that’s “annihilating” whole coral species in hopes of stopping it.
SCIENCE VISUALIZED
A 100-hour MRI scan captured the most detailed look yet at a whole human brain
Researchers report ultraprecise imaging of a postmortem human brain.
NEWS
Ground beetle genitals have the genetic ability to get strange. They don’t
A new look at the genetics of sex organs finds underpinnings of conflicts over genital size.
NEWS
Here’s the science behind some of your favorite things to do in summer
Inject some science into your summer.
NEWS
The largest seaweed bloom ever detected spanned the Atlantic in 2018
Nutrient-rich water from the Amazon River may be helping massive seaweed mats to flourish each summer in the Atlantic Ocean.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Ancient DNA reveals the origins of the Philistines
A mysterious Biblical-era population may have fled Bronze Age calamities.
NEWS
Why some insect eggs are spherical while others look like hot dogs
Analyzing a new database of insect eggs’ sizes and shapes suggests that where eggs are laid helps explain some of their diversity of forms.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Rogue immune cells can infiltrate old brains
Killer T cells get into older brains where they may make mischief, a study in mice and postmortem human brain tissue finds.
NEWS
East Asians may have been reshaping their skulls 12,000 years ago
An ancient skull-molding practice had a long history in northeastern Asia, researchers say.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Europe’s latest heat wave has been linked to climate change
Global warming made the June heat wave at least five times more likely to happen.