Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.
- Life
From viruses to elephants, nature thrives on tiled patterns
A compilation of 100 examples of biological tilings shows how repeated natural motifs enhance strength, flexibility and other key functions.
- Animals
Trucked-in honeybees may edge out bigger bumblebee foragers
The finding could guide beekeepers to keep hives out of most vulnerable areas of the Irish heathlands.
- Psychology
Some irritability is normal. Here’s when it’s not
Irritability is a normal response to frustrations, but it can sometimes signal an underlying mental health disorder, like depression or anxiety.
- 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.
