Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Snake moms-to-be crave toxic toads
The snake Rhabdophis tigrinus seeks out toxic toads to eat when breeding. The snakes can then pass the poisons on to her offspring as chemical defenses.
- Health & Medicine
Whooping cough shot shown safe for pregnant women
Women who get a booster shot against whooping cough, or pertussis, during pregnancy don’t increase their risk of having a problem birth, and they boost their babies’ immunity to the disease.
- Planetary Science
Philae passes first go-no-go tests for comet landing
Philae and its mothership Rosetta are working through the final tests before scientists attempt to launch the lander toward the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
- Neuroscience
Chronic marijuana use may alter the brain
Long-term marijuana use may lead to reduced gray matter and increased white matter connectivity in the brain.
- Planetary Science
Rosetta prepares to let go of its comet lander
To date, everything is a go for scientists to attempt to land a robotic probe on a comet.
- Planetary Science
Comet delivered a showy meteor shower — on Mars
Comet Siding Spring dumped several tons of material into the Martian atmosphere that could have damaged NASA spacecraft.
- Genetics
DNA from 37,000-year-old human hints at early European history
DNA from a roughly 37,000-year-old Homo sapiens skeleton supports recent findings about when ancient humans and Neandertals interbred.
- Tech
‘Micro-scallop’ takes a stroke toward swimming in blood
A tiny device that looks like a scallop flaps its way through viscous fluids, something that has been a challenge in the past.
- Life
Ebola virus edits its own genetic material
Both the Ebola and Marburg viruses edit their genetic material when infecting cells. The viruses may make proteins currently unknown to scientists.
- Animals
Hermit thrushes, humans share some musical basics
The melodious birds share a humanlike bias for notes mathematically related by simple integers.
- Astronomy
Amateur astronomer spots supernova in nearby galaxy
Koichi Itagaki noticed the exploding star as a brilliant point of light in the spiral galaxy M61.
- Neuroscience
Scratching releases serotonin, making you itch more
Scratching an itch releases serotonin in the brain, which can eventually make the itch sensation worse, a new study shows.
