Weekly Headlines (Excerpts)

1. Former research chimps will move to sanctuary, after NIH reverses course

Staffing concerns at biomedical facility outweigh risk of transferring elderly animals, agency says

BY DAVID GRIMM 8 NOV 2024 

2. This elephant learned to use a hose as a shower. Then her rival sought revenge

Behaviors reveal sophisticated tool use—and possible “pranking”—among pachyderms

BY SARA REARDON 8 NOV 2024 

3. Russia postpones three major science projects

Trade sanctions and budget woes delay new x-ray sources and neutron beams

BY EUGENE GERDEN 8 NOV 2024 

4. Scientists discover ‘division of labor’ in mitochondria

When nutrients get scarce, some of these organelles specialize in producing energy whereas others turn to manufacturing

BY MITCH LESLIE 8 NOV 2024 

5. Preprint on Alzheimer’s drug deaths ignites dispute among authors

Co-authors say preliminary data on lecanemab fatalities don’t support the paper’s claims

BY JENNIFER COUZIN-FRANKEL 7 NOV 2024 

6. Many human infections with ‘cow flu’ are going undetected

Scientists find evidence of past H5N1 infection in 7% of workers exposed at dairy farms—but no signs of human-to-human transmission

BY KAI KUPFERSCHMIDT 7 NOV 2024 

7. The science behind your dog’s most annoying behavior

Scientists trace “wet-dog shakes” to a specific neuron response that appears widespread in animal kingdom

BY RODRIGO PÉREZ ORTEGA 7 NOV 2024 

8. In Africa, a geologist hunts for rifts that are tearing the continent apart

Beneath Botswana's Kalahari sands are signs of a bigger crackup than previously imagined

BY PAUL VOOSEN 7 NOV 2024 

9. News at a glance: Bird flu testing, U.K. science budget, and cloning for conservation

The latest in science and policy

BY SCIENCE NEWS STAFF 7 NOV 2024 

10. Saved from the scrapyard, this famed ‘flipping ship’ gets a second shot at ocean research

U.K. firm plans to revamp FLIP before deploying it to study air-sea interactions and how sonar beams travel

BY SEAN CUMMINGS 7 NOV 2024 

11. Surprising identities of Pompeii victims rewrite stories from the cataclysm

Ancient DNA reveals victims may not have spent their last moments with close family, as long suspected

BY ANDREW CURRY 7 NOV 2024 

12. When is it too hot to use a fan?

Climate chamber experiments in older people offer conflicting answers

BY WARREN CORNWALL 6 NOV 2024 

13. Astronomers may have spotted the smallest possible stars

Controversial observation of bizarre, paired brown dwarfs could upend star-formation models

BY ADAM MANN 6 NOV 2024 

14. Global biodiversity convention comes up short on funding conservation

But negotiators approved a plan for raising money from companies that profit off genetic information from nature

BY ERIK STOKSTAD 5 NOV 2024 

15. Quest for a deeper theory of fundamental particles hits a curious snag

Most popular way to add more Higgs bosons to standard model goes mathematically haywire

BY ADRIAN CHO 5 NOV 2024

16. Salmon carry nutrients—and pollutants—upriver when they spawn

Toxic contaminants may threaten some freshwater denizens, but pose little risk to humans

BY JAKE BUEHLER 5 NOV 2024