From Michael Lucy at Cosmos:
Antimatter puzzle deepens: Extremely precise measurements of the magnetic properties of the antiproton failed to reveal any difference between it and the proton, leaving scientists baffled about why the universe contains so much matter and so little antimatter. More.
Here’s the story:
Universe’s underlying symmetry still baffling: Magnetic differences between matter and antimatter do not explain why the universe actually exists, writes Cathal O’Connell.
The stories are not rank ordered. Lucy also lists:
Evidence from the oldest-known site of human occupation in Australia is sure to stir debate over human origins. (Cheryl Jones)
Ancestral updates: In a year packed with new insights into the deep history of humanity, two stood out: remains found in Morocco showed that humans much like us have existed for at least 300,000 years (which is 100,000 more than anyone thought); and artefacts from Madjedbebe in the Northern Territory were dated to 65,000 years ago, significantly pushing back the date of human settlement of Australia.
The research, published this week in the British journal, Nature, bolsters the case that the ancestors of the first Australians could have interbred with archaic humans, such as the Denisovans, thought to be close cousins of the Neanderthals.
It also suggests ancient Australians were much more sophisticated than previously thought, and could have had a big impact on the environment.
And we hope no one’s career got wrecked in the past few decades, doubting whatever “ding dong Darwin” was the bumf of the day. It’s becoming increasingly clear that most of the certainty has been ideological, not scientific.
See also: Millennial classic edition: Science writer Michael Shermer make Scientific American’s Top Ten stories list In general, Scientific American is getting pretty self-absorbed when this is a top story. … Overwhelmed by 2017 events? Eh? Gawrylewski apparently isn’t old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, the moon walks, the fall of the Soviet Union, mapping the human genome… to throw out just a few. She sounds so, well, “millennial,” fronting perennial and often petty gripes as if they were historic changes. Of course, millennials could always grow up. The world out here is actually pretty interesting, provided they can stand it.
A top anthropology finding of year show humans cognitively closer to dogs than chimps
and
American Council for Science and Health’s 10 biggest junk stories for 2017 include… Stephen Hawking