Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
Genes help snub-nosed monkeys live the high life
Snub nosed monkeys have certain genetic variants that help them breathe easy in low oxygen.
- Life
Lyme bacteria swap ‘catch bonds’ to navigate blood vessels
Lyme bacteria use same tricks as white blood cells to navigate blood stream.
- Neuroscience
Computers refine epilepsy treatment
Surgeons harnessed computers in 1966 to pinpoint source of epilepsy in the brain.
- Genetics
Thank (or blame) your genes for ability to handle java jolt
A gene involved in caffeine processing may control coffee consumption.
- Animals
Warm-up benefit could explain morning birdsong
Even birds sing better after vocal warm-up, and an evolutionary arms race among rivals might have led to the intensity of the dawn chorus.
- Microbes
Bacteria display qualities that a mother would love
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses big lessons we can learn from some of Earth's smallest organisms.
- Health & Medicine
Weapon of bone destruction identified
Scientists discover myeloma’s secret bone-destroying messenger.
- Life
CRISPR inspires new tricks to edit genes
CRISPR/Cas9 has been a rockstar gene-editing tool for just four years and it’s already being tweaked to do more things better.
- Neuroscience
What Donkey Kong can tell us about how to study the brain
Neuroscience tools failed to reveal much about a simple microprocessor. What can they really tell us about the brain?
- Health & Medicine
Cornea donation may have sex bias
Women receiving a corneal transplant do better when their donors are female, new research finds.
- Plants
How a tomato plant foils a dreaded vampire vine
Tomatoes can foil a dodder plant attack by getting scared and scabbing over.
- Animals
Ways to beat heat have hidden costs for birds
Birds that look as if they’re coping with heat waves and climate change may actually be on a downward slide, with underappreciated disadvantages of panting and seeking shade.
