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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Hermit crabs are drawn to the smell of their own dead
A new study finds that the smell of hermit crab flesh attracts other hermit crabs of the same species desperately looking for a larger shell.
- Animals
The world’s largest bee has been rediscovered after 38 years
Researchers rediscovered the world’s largest bee living in the forests of an island of Indonesia.
- Life
Slow sperm may fail at crashing ‘gates’ on their way to an egg
A new study describes how sperm navigate narrow straits in the reproductive tract’s obstacle course to reach an egg.
- Health & Medicine
Brain-zapping implants that fight depression are inching closer to reality
Researchers are using electric jolts to correct the faulty brain activity that sparks depression.
- Astronomy
Ultima Thule is shaped like two lumpy pancakes
Scientists are rethinking the shape of the space rock, once thought to be a snowman.
- Animals
How black soldier fly larvae can demolish a pizza so fast
When gorging together, fly larvae create a living fountain that whooshes slowpokes up and away.
- Earth
Five explosive things the 2018 eruption taught us about Kilauea
Kilauea’s 2018 eruption allowed volcanologists a clear window into the processes that have shaped and influenced the world’s most watched volcano.
- Plants
How light-farming chloroplasts morph into defensive warriors
Researchers now know which protein triggers light-harvesting plant chloroplasts to turn into cell defenders when a pathogen attacks.
- Neuroscience
Rocking puts adults to sleep faster and makes slumber deeper
People sleep better when their beds are gently rocked, a small study finds.
- Animals
Young emperor penguins brave icy, winter waters in their first year
Young emperor penguins learn survival skills on their own, including how to navigate Antarctica’s icy winter ocean.
- Paleontology
A four-legged robot hints at how ancient tetrapods walked
Using fossils, computer simulations and a life-size walking robot, researchers re-created how an early tetrapod may have made tracks.
- Planetary Science
Two daring spacecraft aim to bring asteroid dust back to Earth
A pair of daredevil spacecraft that aim to bring asteroid dust back to Earth have reached their targets and are scouting for the best sampling spots.
