Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
How to get Ötzi’s look
DNA from Ötzi the Iceman’s clothes and quiver traced to both domesticated and wild animals.
- Animals
Evidence piles up for popular pesticides’ link to pollinator problems
Neonicotinoid pesticides linked to population declines in California butterflies and wild bee extinctions in Great Britain.
- Earth
Americas’ hookup not so ancient after all
Debate lingers over when the Isthmus of Panama formed and closed the seaway that separated North and South America millions of years ago.
- Genetics
Genetic diversity data offers medical benefits
Study of protein-producing DNA narrows down disease-causing genetic variants.
- Health & Medicine
When it comes to antimicrobial resistance, watch out for wildlife
Focusing on antimicrobial resistance in hospitals and farms misses a big and not well understood part of the issue: wildlife.
- Animals
Lizard mom’s microbiome may protect her eggs
Striped plateau lizard moms don’t do any parenting beyond laying eggs. But they may convey protection from pathogens with help from their microbiome.
- Animals
Female fish have a fail-safe for surprise sperm attacks
A Mediterranean fish provides evidence that, even after laying their eggs, females can still influence who fertilizes them.
- Life
Genes that control toxin production in C. difficile ID’d
Pinpointing the genes behind Clostridium difficile toxin production could help researchers disarm the superbug without killing “good” bacteria.
- Life
Two stationary kinds of bacteria can move when mixed
Bacteria stuck when alone on a dry surface get moving — and get faster — when they evolve together.
- Life
For bacteria, assassination can breed cooperation
Cholera bacteria stabbing each other can encourage the evolution of cooperation.
- Life
‘Promiscuous’ enzymes can compensate for disabled genes
Promiscuous enzymes can step in when bacteria lose genes they need to function.
- Animals
Capybaras may be poised to be Florida’s next invasive rodent
Some capybaras have escaped their owners in Florida. Others have been set loose. Now there are fears the giant rodents could become established in the state.
