Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
Surprise! Ancient armadillos are related to modern armadillos
DNA evidence proves that ancient glyptodonts are indeed related to today’s armadillos, as Charles Darwin suspected.
- Genetics
Prion disease gets personal
Diagnosis of a brain-wasting disease drove a married couple into science.
- Animals
Without a ban on trade in old ivory, elephant killing continues
Samuel Wasser has been working to track down where poached ivory comes from. But to stop the killing, he says, a ban on the ivory trade is necessary.
- Genetics
Dads pass health effects of stress on to sons, mouse study finds
In mice, males exposed to repeated psychological stress developed high blood sugar — and so did their unstressed male offspring.
- Microbes
Missing gut microbes linked to childhood malnutrition
The right mix of gut microbes could prevent kids from succumbing to malnutrition.
- Health & Medicine
Mini-stomachs brew insulin in mice
Scientists transform stomach cells into insulin factories and grow mini-stomachs for diabetic mice.
- Animals
Chubby king penguins wobble when they waddle
King penguins’ weight gain makes their waddle a bit wobbly, study suggests.
- Humans
Human DNA found in a Neandertal woman
Interbreeding between humans and Neandertals happened earlier than thought, leaving traces in the Neandertal genome.
- Animals
Slow-moving nurse sharks have a metabolism to match
The nurse shark has the slowest metabolism of any shark measured so far, a new study finds.
- Life
Memory cells enhance strategy for fighting blood cancers
Immune therapy made more powerful with memory T cells.
- Neuroscience
Re-creating womb sounds perks preemies’ attention
Babies born prematurely may benefit from hearing a recording of their mothers’ voices and heartbeats.
- Neuroscience
Tiny bare-bones brains made in lab dishes
A reliable way to make standard-issue minibrains could help scientists study the human brain.
