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Packing peanuts make shipping fragile objects easy. But the puffy particles become a wasteful nuisance once the shipment is complete. Now researchers report a method to turn them into something useful. The chemical engineers carbonize the foam packaging and use the resulting carbon microsheets to construct lithium battery anodes that rival the performance of conventional graphite ones. Vinodkumar Etacheri, a postdoc in the lab of Vilas G. Pol of Purdue University, presented the work Sunday in the Division of Environmental Chemistry at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Denver....

A mysterious particle created in a blazing fireball at an atom smasher is misbehaving, a new experiment shows. The particle, called a charm quark, revealed surprising interactions with its neighboring subatomic particles, measurements show. That discovery could improve scientists’ understanding of the conditions that existed soon after the Big Bang, when the universe was permeated by a primordial soup of elementary particles, and possibly show hints of physics beyond what scientists know today....

Fungi make up an understudied kingdom of life-forms, often ignored unless they manifest as mushrooms, ferment a drink or rot a wood structure. But behind the scenes—and often belowground—fungi are the heavy lifters in complex nutrient exchanges and critical chemical reactions that sustain our more familiar world of plants and animals. In winding prose, biologist Sheldrake explores every aspect of what we know about these unusual beings. He documents impressive fungal feats, exploring how the organisms process toxic waste, synthesize medicines, build materials that act like leather, foam or concrete, and more—looking to a future where humans can harness fungi’s ability to make new things and break down old things that nothing else can....

The slime that sloughs off the skin of Alaskan salmon might become the latest tool for measuring their numbers and protecting populations—an effort that could be vital to keeping the wild fish on dinner plates for years to come. Researchers recently counted the number of salmon migrating through a narrowed waterway for fish, or weir, in southeastern Alaska by measuring DNA in the bodily waste they shed into a stream as they headed to spawning grounds....

MOST PEOPLE HEAD TO THEIR DOCTORS IF THEY HAVE CHEST PAIN or a suspicious lump, but signs like these often appear too late. Catching symptoms earlier requires ongoing monitoring—the kind of thing a cell phone might do. Health-scanning systems that exploit the continuous flow of data from cell phones could help eliminate the perilous lag time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis. Mobile devices could also help care providers identify and treat problems before they become too serious—and too expensive—to address effectively....

Sex is supposed to be simple—at least at the molecular level. The biological explanations that appear in textbooks amount to X + X = ♀ and X + Y = ♂. Venus or Mars, pink or blue. As science looks more closely, however, it becomes increasingly clear that a pair of chromosomes do not always suffice to distinguish girl/boy—either from the standpoint of sex (biological traits) or of gender (social identity)....

The Covid-19 pandemic has tightened our social circles and narrowed the scope of our lives in ways no one imagined just a year ago. But the lockdown also brought an unexpected solace: Everyone, it seems, turned to baking sourdough bread. Social media has been overflowing with photos of frothy sourdough starters — many of them named, like a family pet — and the fresh-baked loaves that result. And though peak sourdough may have passed, many a fridge still contains that jar of starter....

It stands to reason that as the atmosphere warms from the buildup of greenhouse gases, so does the ocean. Scientists have long suspected this was true, but they did not have enough solid evidence. Now they do. Data compiled by Marinexplore in Sunnyvale, Calif., not only confirm previous studies that the world’s oceans are simmering, but they also bring surprising news: the heating extends beyond the first few meters of surface waters, down to 700 meters....

Experts have long suspected that complex social interaction drove the evolution of large brains in humans. Now a study in wasps supports and refines that theory: it seems that dominant individuals have larger brain regions responsible for higher-order cognitive processes. Biologists at the University of Washington observed the behavior of paper wasps (Mischocyttarus mastigorphorus) in the Costa Rican rain forest and then measured the size of their brains. The researchers found that the so-called mushroom bodies, the lobes that underlie learning and memory in insects, were larger in dominant wasps than in their subordinate peers....

Fungal infections are common and usually treatable. But they can be deadly in patients with immune systems compromised by diseases such as AIDS or by meds taken to keep them in check when they become too active (causing so-called autoimmune conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), or to prevent rejection of organ transplants. Now drug regulators say a class of medicines called TNF alpha blockers such as Enbrel, Remicade, Humira and Cimzia must carry stronger warnings that they pose a serious risk of histoplasmosis infection, a respiratory or blood illness caused by fungi endemic to the Midwest....

In an unusual exercise of its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on December 30 the establishment of a “chemicals of concern” list and action plans that could prompt restrictions on four types of synthetic chemicals used widely in manufacturing and consumer products, including phthalates used to make flexible plastics, often for toys, household products and medical equipment. Of the compounds covered in the action plans—which also include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), long-chain perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs)—phthalates and PBDEs will be listed as “chemicals of concern....

As far back as Icarus’s ill-fated aviation attempt, humans have looked to birds for inspiration in our airborne endeavors. But truly birdlike flight with flexible, feathered wings has long eluded us; for one thing, engineers have struggled to understand how birds control wing feathers. But two new studies could change that. Researchers recently designed and flew a robot with feathered wings that can change shape midflight like birds’ do, giving it greater maneuverability than rigid drones....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. The Battle of Ad Decimum near Carthage, North Africa took place in September 533 CE and was the first major battle of the Vandalic War (533 - 534 CE) between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandal Kingdom. Leading the Vandals was the newly crowned king Gelimer (480-550 CE) who had usurped Hilderic (r....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. As in just about any other period of history, clothing in the Middle Ages was worn for necessity, comfort, and display. Bright colours and rich decorations made for a striking medieval wardrobe, at least among the wealthy, although there was a surprising similarity in clothes for different social classes and the sexes....

Did you like this article? Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication. Jeanne de Jussie’s Short Chronicle (1535) is an eyewitness account by the nun Jeanne de Jussie (l. 1503-1561) relating how the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland, impacted the lives of the sisters of her convent of Poor Clares. The work is significant in providing a counterpoint to the Protestant versions of the event....

After Keith Beck died of bile duct cancer last year, family members said more than 900 people showed up to pay respects to the popular athletic director at the University of Findlay in northwestern Ohio. Many were former students who recalled acts of kindness during Beck’s nearly 30-year career: $20 given to a kid who was broke, textbooks bought for a student whose parents were going through bankruptcy, a spot cleared to sleep on Beck’s living room floor....

As the surgical team prepared its instruments, a severed human head lay on the plastic tray, its face covered by a blue cloth. It had thawed over the past 24 hours, and a pinky-sized burr hole had been cut near the top of its skull. Scalp covered with salt-and-pepper stubble wrinkled above and below a pink strip of smooth bone. Over the next two hours, the head would be scanned in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine as the researchers, led by Daniel Lim, a neurosurgeon and stem-cell scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, tested a flexible needle for delivering cells to the brain....

When President Obama wants to talk with his military commanders in Iraq, he doesn’t just pick up the phone. There is dedicated videoconferencing technology in the White House that enables him to speak with experts around the globe. And although the technology the administration uses is classified—the White House declined to identify the system—it is clear that it is a lot more environmentally friendly than firing up Air Force One....

Rush Holt, a physicist and Democratic congressman from New Jersey, was named today as CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a nonprofit that promotes science and publishes the Science family of journals. When he retires from his eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in a few months he will succeed Alan Leshner, a neuroscientist, who has held the AAAS job since 2001. During Holt’s tenure on Capitol Hill he has been a strong advocate for integrating science into decision-making....

James Watson, the molecular biologist who has become nearly as famous for his unfiltered, off-colour remarks as for his role in the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, has achieved another scientific milestone. On December 4, he became the first living scientist to auction his Nobel Prize medal to the highest bidder. The anonymous buyer paid US$4.76 million, including the buyer’s premium that goes to the auction house, participating by phone in the sale held at Christie’s auction house in New York City....