News in Brief
- Archaeology
For some early monks, impaired hearing amplified sounds of silence
Middle-ear ailments probably had little impact on early Christian monks’ lives.
- Paleontology
Cretaceous bird find holds new color clue
New molecular clues in 130-million-year-old bird fossil could help paleontologists firm up case for ancient color in dinosaurs.
- Health & Medicine
Heartburn drugs may raise stroke risk
Drugs used by millions for heartburn linked to increased risk of stroke.
- Neuroscience
Despite Alzheimer’s plaques, some seniors remain mentally sharp
Plaques and tangles riddle the brains of some very old and very healthy people.
- Health & Medicine
Downside of yo-yo dieting is rise in heart disease risk
Yo-yo dieting hurts the heart, even if you’re not overweight.
- Animals
Skimpy sea ice linked to reindeer starvation on land
Unseasonably scant sea ice may feed rain storms inland that lead to ice catastrophes that kill Yamal reindeer and threaten herders’ way of life.
- Neuroscience
Infant brains have powerful reactions to fear
Babies can recognize facial emotions, especially fear, as early as 5 months old.
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- Neuroscience
Zap to the head leads to fat loss
Stimulating the vestibular nerve led people to shed fat in a small trial.
- Animals
Narwhals are really, really good at echolocation
Audio recordings from the Arctic suggest that narwhals take directional sonar to the extreme.
- Environment
Ocean plastic emits chemical that may trick seabirds into eating trash
Some seabirds might be eating plastic because it emits a chemical that smells like food.
- Climate
If you thought 2015 was hot, just wait
The record-setting global temperatures seen in 2015 could be the “new normal” as soon as the 2020s.
