January/February 2019^ DISCOVER^31
ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE
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GENETICS
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HUMAN ORIGINS
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FLORA & FAUNA
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SPACE
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ARCHAEOLOGY
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MATH
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MEDICINE
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PALEONTOLOGY
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NEUROSCIENCE
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POLICY
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CHEMISTRY & PHYSICS
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TECH
THE STATE OF SCIENCE
NOW WHAT?
An Adélie penguin waddles up from its colony on Antarctica’s tiny Brash Island for a closer look
at a quadcopter, which scientists had landed only about 30 seconds earlier. “Adélie penguins
have no natural land predators in Antarctica,” says Stony Brook University Ph.D. student Rachael
Herman, explaining why they can be indifferent or curious about human activity. Drones such as
this one were novel tools for Herman and her multi-institution team, which determined that the
Adélie colonies on this remote island chain were far larger than previously thought. (See page 44
for more about the newly discovered penguin megacolonies.) Turn the page for our special
section on the year’s top science and technology news, featuring some of the most memorable
images of the year sprinkled throughout. ERNIE MASTROIANNI, PHOTO BY RACHAEL HERMAN/STONY
BROOK UNIVERSITY/LSUSPECIAL
REPORT