Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Earth

    New mapping shows just how much fishing impacts the world’s seas

    Industrial fishing now occurs across 55 percent of the world’s ocean area while only 34 percent of Earth’s land area is used for agriculture or grazing.

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  2. Genetics

    The last wild horses aren’t truly wild

    The ancestor of today’s domesticated horses remains a mystery after a new analysis of ancient horse DNA.

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  3. Paleontology

    New fossils are redefining what makes a dinosaur

    While some researchers question what characteristics define the dinosaurs, others are uprooting the dino family tree altogether.

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  4. Life

    A fake organ mimics what happens in the blink of an eye

    A newly crafted artificial eye could help researchers study treatments for dry eye disease and other ailments.

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  5. Plants

    The flowers that give us chocolate are ridiculously hard to pollinate

    Cacao trees are really fussy about pollination.

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  6. Neuroscience

    Babies can recover language skills after a left-side stroke

    Very young babies who have strokes in the language centers of their brain can recover normal language function — in the other side of their brain.

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  7. Tech

    This stick-on patch could keep tabs on stroke patients at home

    New wearable electronics that monitor swallowing and speech could aid rehabilitation therapy for stroke patients.

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  8. Space

    Americans would welcome alien life rather than fear it

    Americans would probably take the discovery of extraterrestrial microbes pretty well.

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  9. Animals

    Ants practice combat triage and nurse their injured

    Termite-hunting ants have their own version of combat medicine for injured nest mates.

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  10. Neuroscience

    To hear the beat, your brain may think about moving to it

    To keep time to a song, the brain relies on a region used to plan movement — even when you’re not tapping along.

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  11. Animals

    Strong winds send migrating seal pups on lengthier trips

    Prevailing winds can send northern fur seal pups on an epic journey.

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  12. Paleontology

    Fossil footprints may put lizards on two feet 110 million years ago

    Fossilized footprints found in South Korea could be the earliest evidence of two-legged running in lizards.

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