Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
Readers ponder geothermal power and more
Readers respond to stories from the May 26, 2018 issue of Science News.
- Climate
Why won’t this debate about an ancient cold snap die?
Critics are still unconvinced that a comet caused a mysterious cold snap 12,800 years ago.
- Life
Zika gets the most extreme close-up of any flavivirus
The closest look yet at Zika virus may reveal some vulnerabilities.
- Neuroscience
Watch the brain jiggle with each heartbeat
A new twist on MRI can reveal how the brain wiggles.
- Neuroscience
How domestication changed rabbits’ brains
The fear centers of the brain were altered as humans tamed rabbits.
-
- Health & Medicine
New studies add evidence to a possible link between Alzheimer’s and herpesvirus
Researchers saw higher levels of herpesvirus in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, which may contribute to plaque formation.
- Anthropology
Koko the gorilla is gone, but she left a legacy
An ape that touched millions imparted some hard lessons about primate research.
- Life
Here’s how drinking coffee could protect your heart
Coffee’s heart-healthy effects rely on boosting cells’ energy production, a study in mice suggests.
- Life
It may take a village (of proteins) to turn on genes
Clusters of proteins transiently work together to turn on genes, new microscopy studies of live cells suggest.
- Neuroscience
Splitting families may end, but migrant kids’ trauma needs to be studied
The long-term effects of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border need to be studied, scientists say.
- Animals
Each year painted lady butterflies cross the Sahara — and then go back again
Painted ladies migrate the farthest of any butterfly.
