Advances

An image of interstellar dust moving through the Milky Way’s magnetic field may help scientists learn more about the origin of galaxies

Try to solve a traveling salesman’s directional dilemma

Gene-cutting diagnostic tests could be as easy as a rapid COVID test and as accurate as PCR

Programmable liquids could aid robot grippers, shock absorption, acoustics, and more

Australian conservationists introduced juvenile cane toads ahead of invasions to help prepare native monitor lizards

Ultrathin gold was achieved with the help of a century-old sword-making technique

Female elephants address one another with individualized rumbles

Most orangutans take seven years to learn to make their own beds

Recycled materials contribute to a pollutant-neutralizing paint

Forestry is deadly. Could automating some logging tasks help?

Bubbles shaped like teardrops, flattened eggs and worms reveal ice’s inner life

The way we’re “wired” to learn may divide us