This Week in Science: Graphene Springs, Buckyballs in Space, and Stressed-Out Plants

(The Week of July 27, 2015)

Seven days, lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of some of the week’s most notable and quotable items.

Materials scientists can turn sheets of graphene into nanoscale springs, pyramids, hinges, and other shapes with just a few cuts—the same way you can make a snowflake with scissors and a folded piece of paper.

Washington, D.C. will probably sink about 16 centimeters by the end of the 21st century.

“Buckyball” molecules in space may have been stealing some of our starlight.

Groups of ants are able to maneuver heavy loads of food back to the nest thanks in part to a few “leader” ants that help guide the team in the correct direction.

The Cassini spacecraft is gearing up to take a last look at Saturn’s icy moons Enceladus and Dione as it prepares for the final phase of its mission.

Ancient huts in South Africa that were ceremoniously buried may contain clues to Earth’s occasional magnetic field reversals.

Plants emit the same compound as animals—a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)—to communicate stress, despite not having a nervous system.

What makes lakes a beautiful shade of blue? Algae.

Changes to a person’s gut bacteria caused by stress experienced when younger may play a role in the development of depression and anxiety in adulthood.

The teeth of T-Rex and other meat-eating dinosaurs contain unusual interior structures that help maintain the serrated edges of those choppers.

Astronomers spotted the first auroras outside our solar system, on a suspected brown dwarf star 18.5 light years away from Earth.

Are some people just naturally bullies?

Image: NASA