Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought
Lamniform sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks are famous for their size. The first such giants evolved 15 million years earlier than thought.
- Anthropology
Big Neandertal noses weren’t made for cold
Tiny cameras threaded inside a Neandertal skull provide evidence that their big noses were not an adaptation to cold climates.
- Animals
How male seahorses tap into their mothering side
By studying the genes responsible for the seahorse’s brood pouch, researchers uncovered a new route to “motherhood.”
- Paleontology
Nanotyrannus is still not a teenage T. rex
Nanotyrannus wasn’t a juvenile T. rex but a petite adult of a separate species, a new study of fossil hyoid bones finds, bolstering a recent report.
- Animals
Ancient DNA reveals China’s first ‘pet’ cat wasn’t the house cat
The modern house cat reached China in the 7th century. Before that, another cat — the leopard cat — hunted the rodents in ancient Chinese settlements.
- Humans
Ancient southern Africans took genetic evolution in a new direction
An ancient, shared set of human-specific genes underwent changes in a geographically isolated population after around 300,000 years ago, scientists say.
- Animals
Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin
Ancient collagen preserved in the bones of extinct Australian mammals is revealing their evolutionary relationships, leading to some surprises.
- Paleontology
This bright orange life-form could point to new dino discoveries
Colorful lichen living on dinosaur bones reflect infrared light that can be detected by drones, which might lead to finds in remote areas.
- Life
Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them
The grisly infrared camera footage records a never-before-seen hunting tactic. It may have implications for bat conservation.
- Life
A new dinosaur doomsday exhibit showcases survival after destruction
The American Museum of Natural History’s “Impact: The End of the Age of the Dinosaurs” examines how an asteroid impact shaped life as we know it.
- Physics
Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible
Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his famously bright snout. But physics would make it look different colors from the ground.
- Animals
Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now
A machine learning analysis of wild lion audio reveals they have two roar types, not one. This insight might help detect where lions are declining.
