Hantviruses, a typical kind of virus. (CDC: Cynthia Goldsmith, Luanne Elliott/Wikimedia Commons)

It’s hot outside. Cool off with some science!

• This was a big week for viruses, one that reminded us just how little we know about the viral world. First came the news that 12 new groups of viruses — previously completely unknown to science — had been fished from the oceans.
• Then there was the announcement that a family of gigantic viruses had been discovered, viruses so large they could be see with a regular light microscope.
• Scientists have come up with a way to shut off the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome.
• Your dog might actually have an opinion about that sweater you got for him, because it turns out dogs may be able to see color at least as well as a color-blind person.
• Why biopsy a tumor surgically when you can do it with a blood test? It may not be far off, thanks to new technologies that can siphon tumor cells from the blood.
• Geophysicists say volcanoes sometimes scream right before they erupt. Now they know why.
• In a world where so many languages are dying or being forgotten, it’s amazing to hear about a new language being born.
• Clinical trials are a mainstay of the drug development process. But do they work?
• They had me at the headline: “What can sexy robot frogs teach us about evolution?”
• Now you can power your cell phone with pee. Just wash your hands after recharging.
• I love the smell of intergalacatic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the morning. Because that’s what space smells like.
• Some percentage of cases of autism may be due to antibodies from mom that attack the fetus’s developing brain. Waiting for the “Sure, blame the mom” comment….
• A common obesity gene may cause people to gain weight by keeping them hungry.
• Cancer survivors may get one more long term benefit from treatment, apart from being alive: a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s.
• A new technology could help surgeon’s tell when they’ve gotten all of a tumor out….by the smell of its burnt tissue.
• Now Neptune has a new moon too! (I think it got jealous of Pluto.)
• And here’s a cool video of a levitating superconductor riding on a magnetic Möbius strip. (Thanks to reader David K. for this!)