Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Life

  1. Health & Medicine

    The brain’s response to a heart attack may worsen recovery

    In mice, blocking heart-to-brain signals improved healing after a heart attack, hinting at new targets for cardiac therapy.

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  2. Animals

    Spider silk-making organs evolved due to a 400-million-year-old genetic oops

    An ancient ancestor of spiders and relatives doubled its genome about 400 million years ago, setting the stage for the evolution of spinnerets.

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  3. Animals

    Some vaccines are making progress in protecting vulnerable species

    Vaccines can be a crucial conservation tool. But getting shots to wildlife, and developing them in the first place, is tough.

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  4. Animals

    How Greenland sharks defy aging

    When it comes to bucking the biological ails of aging, humans could learn something from Greenland sharks.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    It masquerades as malignant. But this bone-covered tumor is benign

    Scientists have described a novel, yet benign bone-covered growth's characteristics for doctors, so patients don't receive unnecessary chemotherapy.

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  6. Neuroscience

    A spot in the base of the brain has a love of language

    Brain scans show a spot in the cerebellum attuned specifically to words, expanding on studies that point to the region's importance for language.

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  7. Animals

    Animals experience joy. Scientists want to measure it

    Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.

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  8. Life

    There’s life beneath the snow, but it’s at risk of melting away

    An array of animals and plants survive winter in the subnivium, nature’s igloo. But climate change is threatening this hidden seasonal ecosystem.

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  9. Plants

    'In Botanical Time' explores the ways Earth’s oldest plants cheat death

    Author Christopher Woods unpacks the science behind ancient plants’ longevity in a new book.

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