Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
It’s an herbivore-kill-herbivore world
Female prairie dogs killing babies of another species might keep competitors off the grass.
- Neuroscience
Brain holds more than one road to fear
A study on rare patients suggests that fear can take many paths through the brain.
- Animals
Female burying beetle uses chemical cue to douse love life
While raising their young, burying beetle mothers produce a chemical compound that limits their male partner’s desire to mate.
- Science & Society
Everything you ever wanted to know about hair — and then some
'Hair: A Human History' details the surprising role hair has played in human history.
- Animals
Spider diet goes way beyond insects
Veggie-eating spiders have been found on every continent except Antarctica, a new study notes.
- Paleontology
How to tell if a T. rex is expecting
A “pregnancy” test for tyrannosaurs relies on chemical analyses of medullary bone, a reproductive tissue found in female birds.
- Humans
Pacific islanders got a double whammy of Stone Age DNA
Neandertal and Denisovan genes influence the health of present-day Melanesians.
- Life
How Paralympic sprinters lose speed on curves
Amputee runners may lose more speed on curves when the leg on the inside of the curve is the one bearing a prosthetic, a biomechanics study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Efforts to control mosquitoes take on new urgency
The major mosquito that is spreading Zika virus has quirks that make it one of the toughest to fight.
- Neuroscience
Lost memories retrieved for mice with signs of Alzheimer’s
Using light, scientists coaxed a forgotten memory from the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms.
- Paleontology
True nature of ‘Tully monster’ revealed
The identity of a 300-million-year-old enigmatic creature known as the “Tully monster” is a mystery no longer.
- Animals
Plain ol’ Texas rat snakes basically match vipers for speed
Rattlesnakes and other vipers are not the fastest fangs in the West.
