Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Dietary fiber may curb appetite by acting on brain
Fiber's ability to curb appetite may come from gut molecules traveling to and acting on the brain, not the gut alone.
- Genetics
E. coli’s mutation rate linked to cells’ crosstalk
When E. coli cells are in smaller crowds, their genes mutate at an increased rate.
- Life
1918 flu pandemic linked to human, bird virus gene swap
The 1918 pandemic flu, which killed up to 50 million people, may have come from a human virus and a bird virus swapping genetic material.
- Anthropology
Lake Huron holds 9,000-year-old hunting blinds
The human-made hunting blinds were arranged to drive caribou into a centralized "kill zone," suggesting cooperation among ancient hunters.
- Astronomy
Chilly starlike orb found just a few light-years away
WISE J085510.83-071442.5 is the coldest brown dwarf found to date.
- Genetics
Y chromosome gets a closer examination
The Y chromosome may play a larger role in Turner syndrome and in health and disease differences between males and females than previously thought.
- Astronomy
More details of super-bright supernova released
A supernova whose light was magnified by a large galaxy in front of it is changing the way astronomers think about distant cosmic objects.
- Materials Science
How fractals jam glassy materials
Understanding the intricate energy landscape of glasses could help to explain what happens when glassy materials are deformed or when coffee beans in a container jam.
- Genetics
Gene therapy with electrical pulses spurs nerve growth
Deaf guinea pigs' hearing improves with electrical pulses from a hearing implant are combined with gene therapy, a new study shows.
- Animals
Dolphins use sponges to dine on different grub
The animals can learn to use tools to exploit food sources that would be otherwise unavailable, a study suggests.
- Genetics
Rainbow trout genome shows how genetic material evolved
The finding challenges the idea that whole genome duplications are followed by quick, massive reorganization and deletions of genetic material.
- Genetics
New antibiotic resistance genes found in cow manure
Identifying these genes offers clues to how antibiotic resistance could move from agricultural ecosystems to other communities of organisms.
