Vol. 201 No. 1
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Science Visualized

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Features

More Stories from the January 15, 2022 issue

  1. Planetary Science

    This tiny, sizzling exoplanet could be made of molten iron

    A newly discovered exoplanet that whips around its star in less than eight hours is smaller than Earth, as dense as iron and hot enough to melt.

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  2. Climate

    Climate change could make Virginia’s Tangier Island uninhabitable by 2051

    Tangier Island could be lost to rising seas sooner than previously realized. Whether to save the island or move its residents remains undecided.

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  3. Paleontology

    This dinosaur had a weapon shaped like an Aztec war club on its tail

    The flat and spiky tail club of a newly discovered ankylosaur was unique, even for this often weirdly armored group of dinosaurs.

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  4. Oceans

    The Southern Ocean is still swallowing large amounts of humans’ carbon dioxide emissions

    A 2018 study suggested the ocean surrounding Antarctica might be taking up less CO₂ than thought, but new data suggest it is still a carbon sink.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    A massive 8-year effort finds that much cancer research can’t be replicated

    A project aiming to reproduce nearly 200 top cancer experiments found only a quarter could be replicated.

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  6. Anthropology

    Ancient footprints suggest a mysterious hominid lived alongside Lucy’s kind

    A previously unknown hominid species may have left its marks in muddy ash about 3.66 million years ago in what is now East Africa.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Ingenuity is still flying on Mars. Here’s what the helicopter is up to

    NASA’s Ingenuity craft was originally planned to operate only 30 Martian days.

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  8. Microbes

    A bacteria-virus arms race could lead to a new way to treat shigellosis

    As bacteria that cause shigellosis evolve to escape a virus, the microbes may become less deadly, a hopeful sign for “phage therapy.”

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  9. Climate

    Wildfire smoke may ramp up toxic ozone production in cities

    A new study reveals how wildfire smoke produces toxic ozone and how urban air pollution could exacerbate the problem.

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  10. Quantum Physics

    Physicists have coaxed ultracold atoms into an elusive form of quantum matter

    Quantum spin liquids could be used to help protect fragile information in quantum computers.

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  11. Chemistry

    Here’s the chemistry behind marijuana’s skunky scent

    Newly ID’d sulfur compounds in cannabis flowers give the plant its telltale odor. One, prenylthiol, is what also gives “skunked beer” its funky flavor.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Tiny living machines called xenobots can create copies of themselves

    When clusters of frog cells known as xenobots form a Pac-Man shape, they are especially efficient at replicating in a new way, researchers say.

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  13. Life

    Albatrosses divorce more often when ocean waters warm

    In one part of the Falkland Islands, up to 8 percent of the famously faithful birds ditch partners in years when the ocean is warmer than average.

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  14. Space

    50 years ago, NASA’s space shuttle program got the green light

    For over 30 years, space shuttles helped revolutionize science. Now, NASA is tackling new frontiers with help from commercial spaceflight companies.

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