July 2025

An illustration of the musculoskeletal system of the African coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae)

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of a thorough examination of the cranial musculature of the African coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), a so-called living fossil because it has changed very little over tens of millions of years. Professor Aléssio Datovo of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and G. David Johnson of the Smithsonian Institution dissected two specimens of this fish to gain new insights into the evolution of gnathostomes, a chordate infraphylum that includes jawed vertebrates. As a result, the two researchers discovered that much anatomical information about coelacanths was incorrect.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

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The novel “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut was published for the first time in 1963.

John, who’d like to be called Jonah, intends to write a book about the day the atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. He focuses on Felix Hoenikker, one of the scientists who designed the atomic bomb, seeking out his children and former colleagues to gain information about him.

John/Jonah’s research allows him, among other things, to discover that, before his death, Felix Hoenikker invented ice-nine, a particular form of ice capable of triggering a chain reaction starting from a “seed” with the potential to crystallize all the water on Earth. The writer also discovers that one of the scientist’s sons lives in the Republic of San Lorenzo, where he has become a powerful figure and where many people follow the religion preached by Bokonon.

Blacksnow Zero by Lee Gimenez

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The novel “Blacksnow Zero” by Lee Gimenez was published for the first time in 2020.

FBI Agent Erica Blake is assigned to investigate the murder of Senator Carpenter, but it lasts very little because the case is handed over to another agent. She was following a lead that indicated the case was much larger, but her superiors seem to be taking a radically different view, despite the evidence she started presenting of the use of weapons available only to special forces.

Determined to get to the bottom of the matter despite her orders, Erica Blake turns to CIA Agent Steve McCord. He’s her ex-husband, but the two of them are still on good terms, and he offers her new, disturbing clues. Other high-profile murders may all be connected, and the investigation is starting to become dangerous.

Astral Alignment by Randall Sharpe

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The novel “Astral Alignment” by Randall Sharpe was published for the first time in 2022. It’s the first book in the Astral Alignment series.

Clover Fields wakes up in an unfamiliar place, with no memory of her own. She finds her name on the driver’s license she carries, but even her body seems strange to her due to certain inhuman characteristics. She can defend herself from strange creatures because she carries a weapon unknown to the people who live in the area and find her. She discovers she has strange powers and ends up becoming a sort of priestess of the community.

Darien Weever is trying to recover a manuscript that could be very dangerous in the wrong hands, but he ends up in a situation far more complex than he imagined. Josiah is taken by his father thousands of miles from his home for reasons he doesn’t understand. His father tells him he has special powers, which explains some of his strange experiences, but he finds it difficult to accept that his mother withheld such important information about their family from him.

The Palace of Love by Jack Vance

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The novel “The Palace of Love” by Jack Vance was published for the first time between October 1966 and February 1967, serialized in the magazine “Galaxy” and as a book in 1967. It’s the third book in the Demon Princes series and follows “The Killing Machine”.

Kirth Gersen discovers that poison maker Kakarsis Asm is about to be executed for selling poisons to Viole Falushe without following his guild’s rules. He manages to obtain information that gives him a lead connected to the slave trade. Alusz Iphigenia can’t understand why Kirth continues his crusade, and their relationship ends.

Following the lead, Kirth Gersen uncovers new information about Viole Falushe and his obsession with a woman named Jheral Tinzy. His enemy was born on Earth, and he travels to the planet to meet the poet Navarth, Falushe’s mentor. The poet was entrusted with a girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jheral Tinzy.