All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Neuroscience
How brains filter the signal from the noise
Our brains can distinguish a single voice in the middle of a noisy street. A new study in ferrets shows how auditory systems might separate the signal from the noise.
- Neuroscience
Bingeing rats show the power of food habits
Rats allowed to binge on sweetened milk show a bad habit for food. But while food might change our habits, a bad food habit may not necessarily be an addiction.
- Psychology
That beard is only hot because it’s not cool
There’s more to facial hair than whether you can grow it. A new study shows that attractiveness increases when your style of facial hair is rare.
- Life
Males compete all the way to sperm shape
An association between the ratio of certain proteins in mouse sperm and sexual competition raises many questions about what exactly gives a sperm a good head.
- Neuroscience
Lost sleep could mean lost neurons
A new study shows we may not be able to make up for chronic sleep deprivation. The protein SirT3 might protect us against late nights, but all-nighters may produce neuron loss.
- Animals
Bats’ dinner conversation may go over your head
Hunting big brown bats do more than echolocate. When male bats compete for a single prize, they send social calls to keep other bats at bay.
- Neuroscience
Calcium in alcoholism drug may be what prevents relapse
Acamprosate, one of the few drugs to treat alcoholism, may be nothing more than a vehicle for a calcium supplement.
- Ecosystems
Do your bit for bumblebees
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and its partners have launched the Bumble Bee Watch website to track sightings. When you see a bee bumbling around, snap a photo.
- Animals
Sing a song of bird phylogeny
A new study challenges assumptions about birdsong, finding that the majority of songbird species have female singers.
- Animals
Chemical in male goat odor drives the lady goats wild
A new study shows that male goats exude pheromones from their skin that could make female goats ready to roll in the hay.
- Animals
Methylation turns a wannabe bumblebee into a queen
Epigenetic changes to bumblebee DNA turns a worker into a reproductive pseudo-queen, suggesting that genomic imprinting could be responsible for the bumblebee social system.
- Animals
A weighted butt gives chickens a dinosaur strut
Scientists put wooden tails on chickens to learn how small feathered dinosaurs moved, with results captured on video.
