Weekly Headlines (excerpts)

1. Mini-Dune! Soil viruses hitchhike on tiny worms to infect new victims

Phages travel the human equivalent of thousands of kilometers on poppy seed–size nematodes

BY ELIZABETH PENNISI  23 AUG 2024

2. Builders of massive ancient monument understood the science behind their work

Researchers say 6000-year-old Iberian Peninsula megalith required sophisticated knowledge of physics, geometry, and geology

BY HANNAH RICHTER 23 AUG 2024

3. Hot days or heat waves? Researchers debate how to count deaths from heat

Focusing on temperature extremes can galvanize policy changes but risks undercounting

BY VIVIAN LA  23 AUG 2024

4. Computer models overestimate how many fish it’s safe to catch

A look back at decades of predictions suggests catch limits are often too high, especially for populations in peril

BY ERIK STOKSTAD  22 AUG 2024

5. News at a glance: Icebreaker research blues, disinformation data shutdown, and saving a rare bird

The latest in science and policy

BY SCIENCE NEWS STAFF  22 AUG 2024

6. Synthetic biology, once hailed as a moneymaker, meets tough times

Three major startups have faltered over the past year, but smaller firms are finding a niche

 BY ROBERT F. SERVICE 22 AUG 2024

7. Have China’s carbon emissions peaked? The answer is critical to limiting global warming

Nation’s massive deployments of coal and green energy are complicating forecasts

BY DENNIS NORMILE  22 AUG 2024

8. Larger teams worsen academic career prospects

As teams grow, new Ph.D. graduates are less likely to land tenure-track jobs and more likely to leave science—especially women and international researchers

BY KATIE L. BURKE  21 AUG 2024

9. How might climate change harm human health? U.S. studies face funding challenges

Climate and health scientists trying to team up find wary, siloed agencies

BY MEREDITH WADMAN  21 AUG 2024

10. Why is COVID-19 surging again—and do shots still make sense?

New variants keep eluding human immunity but hospitalizations and deaths are far below earlier peaks

 BY JON COHEN 21 AUG 2024

11. Heat sensors in mosquito antennae may help them hunt us from afar

The insects use infrared radiation to home in on prey, which could reveal new ways to combat them—and the diseases they spread

BY ALEJANDRA MANJARREZ  21 AUG 2024

12. Livestock virus hits Europe with a vengeance

Bluetongue spreads rapidly in sheep and cattle in six countries despite the use of three new vaccines

BY ERIK STOKSTAD  20 AUG 2024

13. Under deadly conditions, these sea creatures can age in reverse

When stressed, this comb jelly reverts to a larval form, then matures again when favorable conditions return

BY ELIZABETH PENNISI  20 AUG 2024 

14. This ‘ruthless’ snake regularly bites off more than it can chew

Brown tree snakes kill fledglings too big to swallow, preventing recovery of rare bird species in Guam

BY ERIK STOKSTAD  19 AUG 2024

15. Spiders force male fireflies to flash like females—luring more males to their death

Study marks the first time scientists have observed this kind of “manipulative” behavior in spiders

 BY HUMBERTO BASILIO 19 AUG 2024