Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Blowflies use drool to keep their cool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then reswallow.
- Life
A key virus fighter is implicated in pregnancy woes
In mice, activating a key component of the body’s antiviral machinery in response to a Zika infection can cause harm to developing fetuses.
- Anthropology
‘Laid-back’ bonobos take a shine to belligerents
Unlike people, these apes gravitate toward those who are unhelpful.
- Oceans
Corals are severely bleaching five times as often as in 1980
Corals are now bleaching more frequently and severely than they were in the early 1980s.
- Microbes
These disease-fighting bacteria produce echoes detectable by ultrasound
Ultrasound can help keep tabs on genetically modified bacteria to better fight disease inside the body.
- Animals
Robot fish shows how the deepest vertebrate in the sea takes the pressure
Tests with a robot snailfish reveal why the deep-sea fish has mysterious goo in its body.
- Neuroscience
Jazz improvisers score high on creativity
Jazz musicians’ creativity linked to brain dexterity.
- Science & Society
Watch our most-viewed videos of 2017
Cassini’s demise, cuttlefish and the Curiosity rover topped our list of most popular videos of 2017.
- Genetics
50 years ago, synthetic DNA made its debut
Synthetic DNA has come a long way since it arrived on the scene half a century ago.
- Animals
2017 delivered amazing biology finds from organisms large and small
From giant African elephants to tiny tardigrades, scientists discovered some surprising biology this year.
- Health & Medicine
The man flu struggle might be real, says one researcher
A researcher reviews the evidence for gender bias among flu viruses in the BMJ’s lighthearted holiday edition.
- Animals
Tiny trackers reveal the secret lives of young sea turtles
Young loggerhead turtles can end up in very different places in the Atlantic depending on when they hatch.
