Tuff \TUF\ n. A type of rock formed through
the settling and compaction of ash and
other debris that erupts from a volcano.

SN Online www.sciencenews.org

LIFE

Commonly used as a building material
in cities near volcanoes (shown, Rome’s

A study documents homicide among chimps. Read “Chimps show lethal side.”

Ponte Fabricio, which has a tuff core), tuff may not be as tough as scientists had thought. European researchers tested how high temperatures affected the strength of three kinds of tuff used in construction around Naples, Italy. When heated to 750° Celsius, two of the rock types maintained their integrity, but a third — Neapolitan Yellow Tuff, the most common building stone in the region — weakened noticeably. In a fire, this stone could crumble faster than residents might expect, the scientists write in the April Geology. — Alexandra Witze

ATOM & COSMOS Cameras spy a Martian dust devil in “Tall, devilish storm skids across Mars’ surface.”

Science Past | FROM THE ISSUE OF MAY 19, 1962

HAPPY HOME LIFE, YEAR 2000 — It is the year 2000.
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, Sr., prospering citizens
of a prosperous America, have decided on a suit-
able wedding present for John, Jr....
They are going to let the boy have
his old room in the Smith home,
for keeps…. The room is detach-
able and readily transportable, as
are all the rooms in this “home of
tomorrow.”... Interlocking room

units that can be buckled onto a house as the family expands, then unbuckled and presented to the occupants when they grow up and leave home, may be in common use some 40 years from now.

Introducing | SOUNDS ON DISTANT WORLDS
Imagining a visit to another planet just got a little
easier, with the first data-based simulations of extra-
terrestrial sounds. Space probes have never captured
actual sounds on other worlds, but a team led by
Tim Leighton of the University of Southamp-
ton in England has simulated such noises
by calculating how sound would travel
through various planetary atmo-
spheres. For example, human vocal
cords would vibrate more slowly
in the dense atmosphere on Venus
(planet shown), but sound waves
would travel faster, making the speaker
seem smaller. The overall effect: some-
thing like a bass Smurf, Leighton says. Listen
to samples of the sounds at www.sciencenews.org/
planetsounds. — Erika Engelhaupt

Science Future

May 26–27

The Mystery at the Museum tour has visitors meet characters and follow clues while visiting behind-the-scenes areas at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. See bit.ly/SFammyst

June 5–6

See the transit of Venus across the sun, the last chance to see the event until 2117. The date and time of viewing will depend on location. See www. transitofvenus.org

DELETED SCENES BLOG For two astrophysics studies, negative results were meaningful. See “A result of zero doesn’t always mean zero results.”

A dairy cow with a rare
form of prion disease
is probably not a threat to
people. Read “California
mad cow case no reason
for panic.”

Science Stats | PIERCING AND THE PUB

Young people with body piercings tested higher for alcohol when exiting French bars than unpierced or tattooed people. While piercing might imply a propensity for taking risks, it’s becoming common; at least one-third of young U.S. adults have non-earlobe piercings, says body art expert Myrna Armstrong, retired from Texas Tech in Lubbock. SOURCE: N. GUÉGUEN/ALCOHOLISM: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RES. 2012