Weekly Headlines（excerpts）

1. ‘Cocaine sharks’ found in waters off Brazil

Sharpnose sharks may or may not eat drifting bales of coke, but a positive drug test highlights risk of pollution

BY ERIK STOKSTAD 19 JUL 2024 

2. In a first, botanists vote to remove offensive plant names from hundreds of species

An international body has voted to make the change and to further consider the ethics of scientific names

BY RODRIGO PÉREZ ORTEGA, ERIK STOKSTAD 18 JUL 2024 

3. More than 1 trillion microbes live inside the average tree trunk

Healthy wood contains vast numbers of bacteria, archaea, and fungi that might lead to ways to protect trees

BY ERIK STOKSTAD 18 JUL 2024 

4. By killing a lunar rover, NASA puts commercial delivery program on notice

Planetary scientists shocked by cancellation of VIPER, which would have hunted for water at Moon’s south pole

BY PAUL VOOSEN 18 JUL 2024 

5. News at a glance: A precise atomic clock, a close asteroid flyby, and flood-resistant rebuilding

The latest in science and policy

BY SCIENCE NEWS STAFF 18 JUL 2024 

6. This CEO aims to revolutionize cancer-killing isotope production—and fusion power

Nuclear engineer Greg Piefer hopes better neutron sources will help his company dominate the multibillon-dollar medical isotope market—and pay for fusion research

BY ADRIAN CHO 18 JUL 2024 

7. Common blood thinners could combat cobra venom

Already approved drugs could be given after a bite to prevent limb damage and amputation in people, animal studies suggest

BY HUMBERTO BASILIO 18 JUL 2024 

8. These microscopic animals fight off infection using genes ‘stolen’ from bacteria

Compounds made by bdelloid rotifers could hold clues to better antibiotics for humans

BY PHIE JACOBS 18 JUL 2024 

9. Two Pompeii victims survived the first wave of the eruption. Then, an earthquake hit

Painstaking analysis of a newly excavated room in Pompeii, Italy, reveals devastating earthquakes accompanied the volcanic eruption

BY ALEX EPSHTEIN 18 JUL 2024 

10. Colombian museum housing scientifically important fossils may close

Researchers voice their support for the Natural History Museum of La Tatacoa

BY RODRIGO PÉREZ ORTEGA 17 JUL 2024 

11. Critical to forecasting monsoons, broken Indian Ocean monitoring system set to be resurrected

Mostly inoperable since 2020, moored sensors are key to understanding global climate patterns

BY VAISHNAVI CHANDRASHEKHAR 17 JUL 2024 

12. Watch the world’s tiniest solar-powered robot take flight

Powered by a novel propulsion system, researchers hope the palm-size robot will help monitor remote disasters and link telecommunications systems

BY VIVIAN LA 17 JUL 2024 

13. Warming oceans are pushing harmful algal blooms into polar waters

Alaska’s Bering Strait was hit by an unprecedented bloom of toxic organisms, which cause paralytic shellfish poisoning, in 2022

BY MEGAN GANNON 16 JUL 2024 

14. Loss of India’s vultures may have led to deaths of half a million people

Find could offer lessons for conserving key species in other places

BY VIVIAN LA 15 JUL 2024