Friction, Faces, and Fossilized Turds: NOVA Next Week in Review

This Week’s NOVA Next Feature

Mastering the force that is almost as poorly understood as it is ubiquitous could transform everything from transportation to geology. NOVA Next contributor and AAAS Mass Media Fellow Anna Lieb reports the story.

In other news:

• The oceans of ancient Earth must have been pretty, um, interesting places .
• Scientists discovered that horses are more expressive than chimps .
• The FDA just approved the first 3D printed drug . The most interesting applications are yet to come.
• We are a far greater threat to carnivores than they are to us.
• No one knows for sure how much methane oil and gas industries actually emit.
• A new theory could tell us if life came from an alien planet.
• Every poop is a nugget of information. Wen scientists find fossilized turds , they get kind of excited.

What We’re Reading

• Experts have determined that the aircraft part that washed up on the island of Réunion last week is almost definitely from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. [The New York Times]
• Tiny arthropods cover debris from (what is likely) aircraft MH370. [WGBH News]
• A new report suggests that there are flaws in ocean acidification research . [Nature News]
• Philosopher Nick Bostrom hopes we won’t ever find alien life. Here’s why . [The New York Times]
• Researchers recently nailed down the chemical reaction that makes fireflies glow. [Science Friday]
• What drives the urge to explore ? “People tend to go out to the edges of things,” writes Veronique Greenwood. [Aeon Magazine]