Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. 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.

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  2. Humans

    Pacific islanders got a double whammy of Stone Age DNA

    Neandertal and Denisovan genes influence the health of present-day Melanesians.

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  3. 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.

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  4. 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.

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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  7. Animals

    Plain ol’ Texas rat snakes basically match vipers for speed

    Rattlesnakes and other vipers are not the fastest fangs in the West.

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  8. Ecosystems

    Australian fairy circles first to be found outside Africa

    Strange patterns of grassland bald spots called fairy circles show up in Western Australia.

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  9. Animals

    Snake fungal disease spreading in eastern United States

    A decade after snake fungal disease was first discovered, it has now been found in its 16th U.S. state.

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  10. Paleontology

    New tyrannosaur bridges gap from medium to monstrous

    Horse-sized Timurlengia euotica had a brain and ears like its bigger relative Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived millions of years later.

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  11. Anthropology

    Ancient DNA reveals who is in Spain’s ‘pit of bones’ cave

    Ancient DNA shows Neandertals lived in northern Spain 430,000 years ago; the early date raises new questions about Neandertals’ origins.

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  12. Ecosystems

    FDA predicts no significant environmental impact from GM mosquitoes

    The FDA has taken a step in the process of deciding whether to allow the first test release in the United States of genetically modified mosquitoes to fight diseases such as Zika.

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