Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Science & Society
‘Specimens’ goes behind the scenes of Chicago’s Field Museum
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago puts seldom-seen specimens on display in a new exhibit to highlight the crucial role of museum objects in scientific research.
- Neuroscience
Food odors are more enticing to sleep-deprived brains
Sleep deprivation makes the brain more sensitive to food smells.
- Neuroscience
More brain differences seen between girls, boys with ADHD
ADHD looks different in the cerebellums of girls and boys with the condition.
- Animals
Camera trap catches a badger burying a cow
Badgers are known to bury small animals to save them for future eating. Now researchers have caught them caching something much bigger: young cows.
- Animals
For glass frogs, moms matter after all
Brief but important maternal care may have evolved before the elaborate egg-tending of glass frog dads.
- Health & Medicine
Getting dengue first may make Zika infection much worse
Experiments in cells and mice suggest that a previous exposure to dengue or West Nile can make a Zika virus infection worse.
- Paleontology
New tyrannosaur had a sensitive side
Tyrannosaurs may have had sensitive snouts that detected temperature and touch.
- Animals
Mosquito flight is unlike that of any other insect
High-speed video and modeling reveal a more complex understanding of mosquito flight.
- Oceans
Thinning ice creates undersea Arctic greenhouses
Arctic sea ice thinned by climate change increasingly produces conditions favorable for phytoplankton blooms in the waters below, new research suggests.
- Genetics
Gene editing of human embryos yields early results
Gene editing in embryos has started in labs, but isn’t ready for the clinic.
- Neuroscience
Sarcasm looks the same in the brain whether it’s words or emoji
Sarcasm via winking emoji affects the brain like verbal irony does.
- Neuroscience
Math-anxious brains tackle simple problems differently
An fMRI study found more variable brain activity in people who get nervous about math problems.
