Weekly Headlines (excerpts)

1. NSF tests ways to improve research security without disrupting peer review

Pilot follows recommendation to review each project rather than restricting topics

BY JEFFREY MERVIS 5 APR 2024

2. Australian museum’s plan to cut research draws fire from scientists

The South Australian Museum says changes are needed to address financial woes and changing public role

BY ELIZABETH FINKEL 5 APR 2024

3. Bird flu may be spreading in cows via milking and herd transport

New data challenge assumed transmission route and some call for restricting cattle movement

BY JON COHEN 4 APR 2024

4. New green technology harvests energy from raindrops and humidity

“Hydrovoltaic” devices could supply clean power 24/7—if they can be scaled up

BY ROBERT F. SERVICE 4 APR 2024

5. ‘Hot little things’: Island rattlesnakes are more likely to strike than their mainland kin

Disparity may be due to island exposure to large herbivores

BY CHRISTIE WILCOX 4 APR 2024

6. With money running out, astronomers urge Mexico to save its giant telescope

The Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano will run out of funding in August, they warn

BY GINA JIMÉNEZ 4 APR 2024

7. Model of ever-expanding universe confirmed by dark energy probe

First results from robotic instrument match expectations for how cosmos has evolved over past 11 billion years

BY DANIEL CLERY 4 APR 2024

8. Alaskapox virus renamed to avoid stigmatizing state and hurting tourism

First human fatality from virus prompts new name: boreal pox

BY KAI KUPFERSCHMIDT 3 APR 2024

9. Satellite signals can measure a forest’s moisture—and its ability to survive

New approach could help scientists figure out how well forests will adapt to climate change and other threats

BY SEAN CUMMINGS 3 APR 2024

10. Modern Blackfoot people descend from an ancient ice age lineage

A new study of historic and modern genomes may help tribes protect ancestral lands and water rights

BY BRIDGET ALEX 3 APR 2024

11. Messenger RNA technology shows first promise against a rare and deadly disease

“Milestone” Moderna trial finds fewer medical crises in some people with metabolic disorder after RNA infusions

BY JOCELYN KAISER 3 APR 2024

12. Global push to put natural history collections online gets major U.K. boost

London’s Natural History Museum gets nearly $200 million to digitize many millions of specimens, while U.S. scientists look on with envy

BY ELIZABETH PENNISI 2 APR 2024

13. Population tipping point could arrive by 2030

Study estimates global fertility will drop below replacement level years earlier than others predict

BY TYLER SANTORA 2 APR 2024

14. U.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five states

Unexpected H5N1 outbreaks in cattle raise difficult questions about how to protect herds and people

BY JON COHEN 1 APR 2024

15. In a bold bid to avoid open-access fees, Gates foundation says grantees must post preprints

Foundation’s move leaves questions about how to fund peer review

BY JEFFREY BRAINARD 1 APR 2024

16. How a ‘rogue’ chunk of DNA scrambled the bird family tree

One inverted genome region spent millions of years frozen in time, obscuring the true history of avian evolution

BY PHIE JACOBS 1 APR 2024

17. Rare wooden artifacts showcase the smarts of early Neanderthals

Complex tools from 300,000-year-old deposit at Schöningen in Germany point to a “wood age”

BY ANDREW CURRY 1 APR 2024