Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
‘Forever chemicals’ could be aging dolphins beyond their years
Common dolphins in New Zealand are biologically older than their calendar ages. Trace metals and “forever chemicals” may be to blame.
- Animals
Seals’ amphibious hearing developed a long, long time ago
Researchers scanned the ears of hundreds of marine mammals to deduce when pinnipeds evolved to hear well in both air and water.
- Paleontology
Spines of saber-toothed cats tell a tale of the doomed species
Remains pulled from the La Brea Tar Pits revealed deformed vertebrae and rare tumors, possible signs of inbreeding among now-extinct saber-toothed cats.
- Animals
Watch an orca ram into a sunfish so hard it explodes
This strategy expands orcas’ already broad repertoire for dispatching different types of prey.
- Paleontology
A rare 3-D snake fossil is ssspilling sssecrets of its unusual lifestyle
A new snake’s unique head anatomy suggests early snakes were even more diverse than thought. This one was a rare burrower.
- Animals
This humpback whale hunting strategy has been out of sight — until now
Scientists documented humpback whales hunting together at the seafloor, coordinating their arrival to scoop up sand lances.
- Animals
Ape cuddles could prevent conflicts
Humans could learn from chimpanzees and bonobos, who turn to group members for physical comfort during tense moments.
- Oceans
Deep-sea snails ride surface currents to reach distant hydrothermal vents
The finding shows how life spreads between isolated deep-sea vents — and how closely those ecosystems are tied to the sunlit ocean.
- Health & Medicine
Inside the fight against the parasite Cyclospora
Parasite-induced cases of explosive diarrhea are sweeping the United States. Containing the outbreak won’t be easy.
- Tech
No, SpudCells aren’t alive. But they’re a step toward the first synthetic life
The lab-made cells open a window into what’s possible for synthetic life, researchers say.
- Genetics
Genes offer new clues to stopping Huntington’s disease in its tracks
A new generation of therapies aims to intervene at a recently discovered gap between the disease’s molecular march and its neurological consequences.
- Neuroscience
Whether lefty or righty, practice makes the difference
Researchers looking for the origins of left-right dominance in the brain found no innately better motor skills on either side.
