Today in Science: Scientists record first known shark sounds

A free daily newsletter for all things science, discovery and awe March 26, 2025: We're covering 23andMe's bankruptcy implications, patience as a process and the first known recording of shark sounds. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor TODAY'S NEWS Rig (Mustelus lenticulatus). Paul Caiger • Listen to rig sharks crackle in scientists' first known recording of shark sounds, made in this case by a species native to New Zealand coastal waters. (Sound file link is one-third of the way down the page.) | 3 min read • Masaki Kashiwara, winner of this year's Abel Prize, a lifetime achievement award for mathematicians, pioneered a "math toolbox" that can be used to describe the natural world. | 7 min read • Invasive plants are not the enemy, says a botanist who challenges how we think about our role in the spread of such species. | 16 min listen • How "qudits," the multi-dimensional cousins of qubits, could make quantum computing more efficient and less prone to error. | 4 min read More News TOP STORIES Genetic Privacy Millions of people who shared a DNA sample with 23andMe now are considering whether and how to safeguard their personal health data as the genetic testing company has filed for bankruptcy. A new owner could change its privacy policy to allow data sharing. Laws might protect users living in some states. In response to the uncertainty, some users are deleting their data while others are putting their faith in 23andMe's recent open letter committing to users' privacy, reports Scientific American associate news editor Allison Parshall.  Why this is important: DNA samples contain genetic information about individuals as well as about their blood relatives. A new owner of 23andMe's data could update its privacy policy, potentially enabling data-sharing with law enforcement or insurance companies. Such a change could impact family members as distant as third cousins.     What the experts say: "We are going to potentially see other cases with similarly massive amounts of data in the future. We do need to start to think, as a society..., about how much control individuals should get over their data—that if they don't want this..., they could say no," says Sara Gerke, a health and privacy law scholar.  Matthew Twombly A Softer Corps Bulldozing land and pouring concrete have long been among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' top approaches for protecting people and our built environment from nature. A modest, 21st-century initiative, called Engineering with Nature (EWN), at the Corps aims to rethink that by giving equal consideration to working with nature rather than dominating it, reports independent journalist Erica Gies. Projects under way include recreating some of the Pájaro River's natural functions in California by buying floodplains from farmers (who were struggling to cultivate the soggy land) in exchange for insurance instead of simply building wider levees at risk for re-bursting.  What the experts say: "The 20th century, you could call it the century of reinforced concrete. My hope is the 21st century is the century of nature," says biologist Todd Bridges, who created the EWN program out of the Corp's research division. Why this is important: The impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is one example of the deadly and costly consequences of Corps decisions to focus on levees, floodwalls and dams. In part to build those structures, the Corps had cut through marshes, which previously had protected New Orleans communities from storm surges. More than 1,400 people died in the Gulf region following Katrina and 80 percent of the region remained under water for more than 40 days. The remaining dunes and marshes did "an especially good job of protecting people," Gies reports.     EXPERT PERSPECTIVES • Patience can be reframed as a process or behavior, rather than as a virtue, in a new line of research by psychologist Kate Sweeny. | 5 min read More Opinion WHAT WE'RE READING • Is it safe to travel with your phone right now? | The Verge • How well is your NYC neighborhood protected from measles? Check out our map. | Gothamist • Europe races to lure U.S. scientists as Trump puts pressure on universities. | The Washington Post  As Erica Gies' story above makes clear, many scientists, as well as residents in disaster-prone areas, have felt frustrated with the Army Corps of Engineers' occasionally brute-force ecosystem solutions in the past. My sense is that it took a while for reliable data to accumulate demonstrating the value of nature-based solutions and other alternatives. Decades ago, I was fortunate to intern for a coastal geologist working on a guidebook for managing barrier beaches without resorting only to sea walls of questionable long-term effectiveness. When weather permitted, we also worked outdoors, helping to map the large dunes in Provincetown, Mass. That summer, I gained a greater appreciation of sand.  Thanks for reading. Send any comments, feedback or sand stories to: newsletters@sciam.com. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004   Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here   Unsubscribe Email Preferences View in browser