Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Snail slime does many jobs thanks to calcium
Snails have five distinct types of mucus, each with its own job. The mollusks tweak calcium secretions to get the chemical mixture just right.
- Health & Medicine
How a brutal drought may have helped unleash yellow fever in Brazil
Animals searching for water brought the forest to the city, perhaps sparking Brazil’s first yellow fever outbreak in decades.
- Neuroscience
A photographic memory is wishful thinking
In fiction, photographic memories crack the case or save the day. But our brains can’t hold on to everything — and that’s a good thing.
- Paleontology
These mammal ancestors birthed live young far earlier than thought
Growth rings on a fossil bone suggest at least one mammal ancestor gave birth to live young rather than laying eggs 236 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Estrogen therapy is linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s in the brain
Estrogen-only menopause therapy in older women was linked to less Alzheimer’s brain pathology at autopsy but may not prevent the disease.
- Animals
Too many choices complicate female frogs’ sex lives
In the lab, female frogs were less likely to choose preferred males as mating calls increased, potentially giving other males a better shot.
- Science & Society
Bamboo toilet paper intrigued me. Reality turned out to be messy
What makes a greener wipe? Researchers have more to say about bamboo's ecological risks, given limited carbon footprint data.
- Animals
Sad or afraid? Dogs may be able to read your face
A new brain-imaging study suggests that dogs may be able to distinguish between certain negative human emotions just by looking at people’s faces.
- Paleontology
Heat-trapping asteroid dust may have incinerated the dinosaurs within hours
Within minutes of impact, debris began heating Earth’s atmosphere. Fine dust trapped that heat, potentially killing the dinosaurs quickly.
- Health & Medicine
Bullfrogs may have an antidote to deadly shellfish poisoning
Researchers injected mice with a protein derived from frogs to save them from the same kind of shellfish poisoning that affects people.
- Animals
Emperor penguin chicks like these starved. An iceberg may be the cause
An emperor penguin colony in Antarctica saw a massive decline in chicks in 2025. The contours of a nearby grounded iceberg may have been the cause.
- Animals
Naked mole-rat queens rule their colonies with a potent odor
A compound made only by breeding queens keeps naked mole-rat colonies infertile and free of conflict.
