Issue # 261 _ November 2017

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Cover

Cosmic cataclysm: Colliding neutron stars emit gravitational waves and light, sparking an international race to learn about unprecedented astronomical event
Source of gold and a way to measure the expansion of the universe: Colliding stars produce heavy chemical elements and allow scientists to measure the rate at which the universe is expanding
Searching for light from the neutron stars: The race to discover the origin of the phenomenon, which involved 70 observatories, was won by a small, old telescope
Marcelle Soares-Santos: Collision hunter: Brazilian physicist leads a group that searches for emissions of light associated with the production of gravitational waves

S&T Policy

DONATION

An auction for science

PR specialist May Rubião left part of her estate to FAPESP to fund stem-cell research

FUNDING

Balance in the Legislature

Congressional influence on determining US research budget avoids drastic cutbacks in research investment

GENDER

To challenge stereotypes

Projects stir interest in the sciences among female high school students

JOURNALS

A stir in the library

German universities wrestle with publishing giant to expand open access to papers and reduce costs

ADAM BROWN

Adam Brown: A roadmap to navigate technology hurdles

British bioenergy expert says the sector has lost momentum and needs greater public policy support

Science

ENVIRONMENT

Lakes molded by time

Climate changes over the last 5000 years helped shape the landscape of Nhecolândia in the Pantanal wetlands

GEOLOGY

China and Brazil may once have been neighbors

Graphite-rich rocks suggest that areas of both countries, as well as Africa, were joined together nearly 2 billion years ago

CHRONOBIOLOGY

A clock that works in the dark

Physics, biology, and technology come together to reveal the circadian rhythms of a subterranean rodent

SCIENTIFIC DISSEMINATION

Dancing for science

Brazilian researcher wins Science magazine’s “Dance Your PhD” contest

Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer: In favor of reason

American science communicator fights irrational thinking and fundamentalism

Technology

COMPUTING

Robot swarms

Field of robotics aims to program machines to perform tasks as a coordinated group

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

More energy 

While electric car batteries are evolving, their energy density is still lower than traditional fuels

Humanities

HISTORY

Health between two worlds

Africans and their descendants acted as bloodletters and midwives, essential functions for Brazilian society in the nineteenth century

LITERARY THEORY

Ideas from many quarters

Discussions in a range of fields mark the 40th anniversary of Ao vencedor as batatas, a collection of essays by Roberto Schwarz