On her deathbed, David Dobbs’ mother asked her children to cremate her body, releasing the ashes in the Pacific so she could be with a man named Angus. Dobbs embarked on a search for Angus, leading him to a story of wartime love, heartbreak, forensics and family. But no one seemed anxious to publish it. The New Yorker and Wired both rejected the idea. The story languished for years, until he pitched it to Evan Ratliff, editor at The Atavist, a newly launched publisher of ebooks.

A lot of hand-waving goes on in the emerging field of archaeoacoustics. The pioneers of this field—which made its debut for the general science community Feb. 17 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver—are perhaps summoning the spirits who occupied the ritual spaces they study.

European representatives from nuclear power, tobacco and genetically modified organism (GMO) industries pleaded for more transparency and public engagement from global policy makers on Feb. 18 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver.

Peer review has long been the standard for quality science, but recent concerns about fraud among authors, bias among reviewers, and possible hindrance of scientific progress has led some to question the effectiveness of a process that relies on anonymous experts and occurs behind closed doors.