Weekly Headlines (excerpts)

1. Our last common ancestor lived 4.2 billion years ago—perhaps hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

Genomes of diverse microbes point to early evolution of a rudimentary immune system

BY ROBERT F. SERVICE 12 JUL 2024 

2. Brain imaging study in children shows sex and gender operate in different networks of the brain

Experts say the study reinforces the need to consider sex and gender separately in biomedical research

BY PHIE JACOBS 12 JUL 2024 

3. To avoid sea level rise, some researchers want to build barriers around the world’s most vulnerable glaciers

Call to study glacial geoengineering stirs up “civil war” among polar scientists

BY HANNAH RICHTER 12 JUL 2024 

4. Medieval wine tasting fills in gaps about Europe’s climate

Sweetness records help chart temperatures back to the 1400s

BY PAUL VOOSEN 11 JUL 2024 

5. Stunning 3D chromosomes in frozen mammoths may help resurrect the beasts

“New type of fossil” found in 52,000-year-old carcass

BY RICHARD STONE 11 JUL 2024 

6. Vulnerable transistors threaten to upend Europa Clipper mission

NASA investigates flaws in radiation-hardened electronics ahead of probe’s October launch

BY PAUL VOOSEN 11 JUL 2024 

7. The most ancient human genome yet has been sequenced—and it’s a Denisovan’s

200,000-year-old DNA from Siberian cave shows our elusive, extinct cousins mated repeatedly with Neanderthals

BY ANN GIBBONS 11 JUL 2024 

8. High bar for famine declaration can delay aid, scientists say

Lack of humanitarian action during early stages of acute food insecurity takes a heavy toll

BY LESLIE ROBERTS 11 JUL 2024 

9. Giant Australian lizards may help protect sheep from deadly fly-borne diseases

Scavenging by heath goannas plays an underappreciated role in reducing carcasses—and their maggots

BY GENNARO TOMMA 11 JUL 2024 

10. Neanderthals and modern humans mingled early and often

Ancient DNA study gives a Neanderthal-eye view of prehistory, offers clues to how our cousins vanished

BY ANN GIBBONS 11 JUL 2024 

11. Fast-moving stars are ‘smoking gun’ for long-sought midsize black hole

Middleweight object fills puzzling gap between stellar black holes and supermassive ones in galactic centers

BY DANIEL CLERY 10 JUL 2024 

12. ‘It’s really scary’: How rat poisons are wreaking havoc on raptors and other wildlife

Supertoxic rodenticides can accumulate in birds, mammals, and insects, even killing some. Scientists want to understand the damage—and limit it

BY DINA FINE MARON 10 JUL 2024 

13. Weight loss drugs without the nausea? Mouse study suggests it may be possible

GLP-1 inhibitors act on different types of neurons to drive satiety and side effects, study suggests

BY MITCH LESLIE 10 JUL 2024 

14. Plague felled European families long before the Black Death

Plague felled European families long before the Black Death 5000 years ago, generations of people buried in tombs in Sweden were infected by Yersinia pestis, the plague bacterium

BY ANDREW CURRY 10 JUL 2024 

15. Hormone found in lactating mice points to possible osteoporosis treatment

Study suggests a little-studied molecule helps prevent bone loss during breastfeeding

BY CATHERINE OFFORD 10 JUL 2024 

16. ‘Happy evolutionary accident’: How crayfish living underground may have gotten their bright colors

A new study suggests the trait may have happened randomly and not as a survival tactic

BY HUMBERTO BASILIO 10 JUL 2024

17. Are invasive spotted lanternflies hitching rides across state lines?

First-of-its-kind study shows these invasive pests can cling to cars even in high winds

BY HANNAH RICHTER 9 JUL 2024 

18. Ancient crystals point to a surprisingly early start for plate tectonics

Hardy zircons suggest subduction of ocean crust began 4 billion years ago

BY PAUL VOOSEN 8 JUL 2024