Writing the summary…
Ancient DNA reveals how plague kept returning for 400 years after the Black Death
Source: Science Daily
Original reporting
Science Daily: read the full reportRelated stories
Science Daily
Scientists discover a hidden “ID card” in cat urine
Cats may identify one another through a surprisingly durable chemical “calling card” made from 13 unusual fatty acids in their urine. The compounds appear linked to mysterious fat droplets in the kidneys and may represent a scent-recognition system shared across the cat family.
Science Daily
Scientists may have solved a 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls mystery
Researchers may have solved a long-running mystery surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls by proposing that the Qumran sect really did use its distinctive 364-day calendar. Its perfectly ordered 52-week system kept holidays on the same weekdays, but it slowly drifted out of sync with the seasons because it was shorter than the true solar year.
Science Daily
New nanoparticles make hidden chemical differences light up
Scientists have developed ultra-bright nanoparticles that can detect tiny amounts of chemicals and distinguish between molecules that look almost identical. The technology could one day provide a cheaper way to catch dangerous drug impurities or trace pollutants using simple low-cost lasers.
Science Daily
Scientists opened a sealed envelope after 10 years. Gravity still didn’t make sense
A decade-long NIST experiment has produced a new measurement of the universal gravitational constant that differs unexpectedly from another leading result, deepening a 225-year-old physics puzzle. The discrepancy is tiny, but for one of nature’s most fundamental constants, it is large enough to keep scientists wondering whether hidden experimental errors or something more surprising is involved.
BBC Science
New £1m grant to help groups protect green spaces
The cash can be used by local communities to protect threatened green spaces and wildlife sites.
BBC Science
'You never quite know what you're going to pull out'
The group is marking a decade of fishing everything from an inflatable doll to a Nintendo out of the harbour.