Science: What Geeks are talking about from Science Magazine

Here is the latest Science News from Science Magazine.

Questions abound after study links tumors to cellphone radiation
Results pose a host of puzzles

Top stories: Mysterious Neandertal cave rings, booming squid populations, and a congressman’s push for Alpha Centauri
The week’s top Science news

In dramatic statement, European leaders call for ‘immediate’ open access to all scientific papers by 2020
Observers are skeptical goal can be achieved

99-million-year-old ‘unicorn ant’ boasted a bizarre prey-catching horn
Specimens show that some early ants were highly specialized

Not unexpectedly, a new drug-resistant ‘superbug’ pops up in the United States
Resistance gene appears as researchers scramble for solutions

U.S. advisers sign off on plan for reviewing risky virus studies
Report from NSABB now goes to U.S. officials, who say policy will be out this year

Q&A: Will Senate COMPETES bill narrow partisan gap in Congress over U.S. research policy?
Republican Cory Gardner and Democrat Gary Peters discuss key elements in pending Senate legislation

Subtle psychological manipulations help people make smarter financial decisions
U.S. trials show low-cost “nudges” can influence choices of people needing help from state services

Genome editor CRISPR helps trace growth of embryos—and maybe cancer next
Biologists use DNA-cutting method to label cells with distinctive “barcodes” they can track

Top French scientists slam surprise budget cut
Government decree takes €256 million out of research coffers this year

U.S. should stick with troubled ITER fusion project, secretary of energy recommends
But the effort will require more money, which Congress may not give

How to build a better battery through nanotechnology
Yi Cui is pioneering efforts to revoutionize battery design, and just perhaps save the world

Will you wake from a vegetative state? New test could tell
Routine FDG-PET scans provide marker for predicting consciousness and recovery from brain injury

Q&A: Web billionaire describes his plan to shoot for the stars
Yuri Milner stunned space fans everywhere with his proposed Starshot project to send probes to Alpha Centauri. Here he answers some of the questions raised

Biotech company will sponsor historic high school science competition
Following Westinghouse and Intel, Regeneron will sponsor the well-known Science Talent Search

Astronomers ink deal to build record telescope
The European Extremely Large Telescope will be world’s largest ground-based optical and infrared facility

Alzheimer’s protein may help brain fight infection
New data in mice and worms support controversial hypothesis

Earth’s climate may not warm as quickly as expected, suggest new cloud studies
Cloud droplets can form without polluting sulfuric acid

Jeremy Berg named <i>Science</i> editor-in-chief
Biochemist and former director of NIH’s basic research institute has long been involved in science policy

With Brazil in political crisis, science and the environment are on the chopping block
Constitutional amendment could gut environmental protections

United States poised to approve major chemical safety overhaul
Bill will boost science’s role in regulation, reduce animal testing, and boost study of cancer clusters

Mysterious underground rings built by Neandertals
New study reveals deep cave exploration, as well as the oldest evidence of Neandertal building

Scientists solve the ‘big sperm paradox’
Researchers investigate why fruit flies produce such giant sperm

Competitive eating in meerkats: Animals pack on the weight to beat their rivals
Heaviest meerkats move to front of queue

Exercise doesn’t just tire your muscles—it makes your eyes sleepy
Study suggests safety risks of too much physical activity

Spent fuel fire on U.S. soil could dwarf impact of Fukushima
New study warns of millions relocated and trillion-dollar consequences

Antibiotics may give cows gas, contribute to climate change
Dosed cows’ manure gives off 80% more methane than that of unmedicated cows

Why this golf club’s sound is so annoying
Researchers find how a driver’s shape and size cause it to make a grating sound when used

Sweden expels Russian research plane amid spying concerns
Move complicates effort to study Asian monsoon

Flexible lithium-air batteries could power next-generation wearable electronics
Devices could one day power everything from clothing packed with LEDs to roll-up tablets

Top mosquito suspect found infected with Zika
Researchers nab Zika-infected Aedes aegypti in the wild

U.S. lawmaker orders NASA to plan for trip to Alpha Centauri by 100th anniversary of moon landing
Representative John Culberson (R–TX) wants agency to envision a spacecraft that can travel at 10% light-speed

Billionaire technologist accuses NASA asteroid mission of bad statistics
Nathan Myhrvold argues researchers underestimated errors

Nanoballs give English ivy one of nature’s strongest glues
Solution to longstanding mystery may have applications to human medicine

Ancient Chinese beer recipe reveals surprising ingredient
5000-year-old brew included barley long before the crop was widely eaten in China

France tightens rules in wake of fatal clinical trial
Final investigation doesn’t determine cause of brain damage in healthy volunteers

World octopus and squid populations are booming
Climate change, overfishing could be behind the rise in numbers

Test your smarts on Fibonacci patterns and robotic insects!
Take the Science Quiz and test your knowledge of the week’s hottest science news.

Study spots evolution in action in Florida bird
Gene study shows not all scrub jay sperm are equal

Zika funding too low in House, Senate bills, Obama says
President insists $1.9 billion is needed to protect the United States against the virus

Burning reactor fuel could have worsened the Fukushima disaster
NAS panel cites lessons for U.S. plants

Top stories: Modern human evolution, the problem with ‘three-parent embryos,’ and what your phone metadata say about you
The week’s top Science news

Biologists identify the backup systems that ensure genes build limbs
CRISPR gene-editing technique reveals subtle interplay between gene “enhancers”

Industry-backed project aims to become one-stop shop for clinical research data
Vivli aims to make it easier for researchers to request and receive patient-level clinical trial data