Birds Bend Light to Woo Females

 Science, March 2014

When a male Lawes’s Parotia shakes a tail feather, the ladies and the physicists take notice. Living in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, males of the species (Parotia lawesii) wear a coat of velvety black feathers, with the exception of a colorful, shimmering spot on their breast. For their mating display, they head to a patch of sunlight and strut their stuff in a so-called ballerina dance, spreading their feathers like a tutu and shaking their body to shimmer their breast plumage.

Unlikely Ally Helps Red Squirrel Fight Invader

 Science, February 2014

For more than a century, invasive gray squirrels have bullied their way across Ireland, outcompeting and drastically reducing the native red squirrel population. But a new study finds that the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris, pictured) has acquired an unlikely ally: its natural predator, the pine marten. The find comes thanks to a 2007 ecological survey, which noted an unexpected decline in the number of North American eastern gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) on the island—and a concomitant rise in the number of pine martens (Martes martes), cat-sized, squirrel-eating carnivores.

Trapped Electron Reveals Its Mass

 Science, February 2014

The mass of an electron appears prominently in many of the fundamental laws that govern the subatomic realm, yet direct measurement has been complicated by the particle’s scrawny mass. Now, a team of physicists has overcome this challenge to produce the most precise electron mass measurement ever made.

How to Hide Your Genome

 Science, February 2014

As the cost of genetic sequencing plummets, experts believe our genomes will help doctors detect diseases and save lives. But not all of us are comfortable releasing our biological blueprints into the world. Now cryptologists are perfecting a new privacy tool that turns genetic information into a secure yet functional format. Called homomorphic encryption and presented here today at the annual meeting of AAAS (which publishes Science) the method could help keep genomes private even as genetic testing shifts to cheap online cloud services.

Featured on Slashdot and in the print edition of Science.

Meet the Robots of AAAS

 Science, February 2014

Robots are taking over Chicago. Experts showed off three animal-inspired robots today at the annual meeting of AAAS, which publishes Science. The robots are designed to gallop, navigate, and swim like their real-world cheetah, ant, and fish counterparts. The mechanical trio’s novel movement could help future robots trek across the rocky terrain of other planets and plunge into the dark depths of the ocean.

Floor Sensors Could Save Elderly From Falls

 Science, February 2014

Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults, causing more than 20,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. Now, a team of researchers is using the same technology found in smartphone touch screens to detect these dangerous tumbles as soon as they happen.

Mysterious Underwater Circles Explained

 Science, January 2014

The truth behind the mysterious underwater circles that periodically appear off the coast of Denmark has been discovered, and sadly it doesn’t involve aliens, fairies, or the fabled lost city of Atlantis. In 2008, a tourist snapped photos of several large dark rings that appeared near the white cliffs of Denmark’s island of Møn in the Baltic Sea.

How to Save Your Scroll

 Science, January 2014

Unlike books, curling up with a good scroll is a bad thing. Long-term storage of bound scrolls can cause the edges of the paper to twist outward, potentially tearing fibers and fading ink. Curators have traditionally blamed the deformation, known in Chinese as Qi-Wa, on humidity and imperfections in the scroll’s construction, but the biggest culprit is the flexible backing layer that the ornate top layer is mounted on, according to a mathematical formula reported this month in Physical Review Letters.

Changing Climate Kills Magellanic Penguin Chicks

 Science, January 2014

A mother Magellanic penguin pants doglike in the afternoon heat, shading her newborn chick from the hot sun. But it’s not enough. The chick’s thick downy coat isn’t designed for the heat, and its efforts to stretch out its wings and neck to cool off don’t work. Despite the mother’s best efforts, the youngster dies.

Scientist Creates Music From Voyager Space Probe Data

 Science, January 2014

As the Voyager space probes plunge into the inky cosmic void, each carries a golden record with 27 songs ranging from Mozart to Chuck Berry. Now, with help from a musical physicist, the twin space probes boast a song of their own.