Advances

Bacteria with artificial hydrogel skeletons could be used as tiny robots

Mistaken fossil identity in India, decrypted letters of an imprisoned Scottish queen, marsupials seeking marsupials Down Under, and more in this month’s Quick Hits

Researchers figured out how the flow of microplastics flattens ocean waves, letting satellites paint a clearer picture for future policy and cleanup efforts

A new material was used in a simple snail robot, but it could one day make artificial nervous systems for more complex machines

Math is called the “universal language,” but a unique dialect is being reborn

A small, bizarre-looking fish found more than five miles under the sea is considered the deepest fish ever recorded

Our galaxy’s enormous scaffolding is shaped by complex magnetic fields

A microbial discovery could help guide the search for life beyond Earth

Scientists document a groundbreaking flight to deliver a lung for transplant

Just two genes get tiny synthetic cells moving, offering clues to life’s evolution

Millennia of a rodentlike animal’s urine preserve crucial data that could help scientists understand early humans’ leap forward

An unusual semiconductor is making physicists rethink the science of extreme conditions