News in Brief
- Life
Gene variant makes flu particularly dangerous
People with one form of IFITM3 are more likely to develop pneumonia.
- Health & Medicine
Signs of trauma documented in living brains
Molecular signature of injury seen in scans of retired NFL players.
- Humans
Ancient human DNA suggests minimal interbreeding
Genetic analysis indicates Stone Age people mated infrequently with Neandertals and other close relatives.
- Health & Medicine
Brain region associated with selfishness
In three women, damage to basolateral amygdala prompted unusual generosity.
- Life
Genes tied to body mass set point
Genes may help determine why some mice (and perhaps people) become obese when eating a sugar- and fat-laden diet.
- Animals
Integrative and Comparative Biology
The hormonal roller coaster that is male pipefish pregancy and collision safety features for flying insects.
- Earth
Chemical tied to intergenerational obesity
Mice ingesting the compound tributyltin pass effects to grandchildren.
- Life
Genes indicate Stone Age link between India and Australia
Genetic evidence suggests some people migrated from India to Australia roughly 4,300 years ago.
- Humans
Cold spells were dark times in Eastern Europe
Cooler periods coincided with conflicts and disease outbreaks, a tree-ring study spanning the last millennium finds.
- Earth
Glaciers carve path for future buildup
Previously sculpted landscapes accumulate ice more quickly than steep valleys.
- Life
Reprieve for reprogrammed stem cells
A study published in 2011 in Nature found that stem cells produced by reprogramming mouse skin cells get attacked when transplanted back into mice.
- Humans
Wrist bones said to distinguish hobbits
New fossils enter the debate over tiny humanlike species that lived in Indonesia.
