Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Plagues plagued the Bronze Age
Ancient bacterial DNA provides first clues to Bronze Age plagues in Europe and Asia.
- Animals
Invasive species may be great snacks for predators
The arrival of a new food source can benefit predators, a new study finds. But if there are no native species around to eat, it’s a different story.
- Paleontology
Furry, spiky mammal scampered among dinosaurs
Early Cretaceous fur ball with spikes discovered in Spain.
- Animals
For glowworms, the brightest girls get the guy
Brighter female glowworms attract more mates and lay more eggs than their dimmer peers.
- Physics
Pentaquarks, locked-in syndrome and more reader feedback
Readers discuss pentaquark sightings, delightful diatoms and whether an ancient four-legged fossil was actually a snake.
- Genetics
Asian tiger mosquito genome sequenced
Researchers have sequenced the genome of the Asian tiger mosquito, a stealthy invasive species and carrier of tropical diseases.
- Animals
For glowworms, the brightest girls get the guy
Brighter female glowworms attract more mates and lay more eggs than their dimmer peers.
- Animals
How architecture can make ants better workers
The right nest architecture can make harvester ants better at their job, new research shows.
- Neuroscience
Nets full of holes catch long-term memories
Tough structures that swaddle nerve cells may store long-term memories.
- Neuroscience
Sex influences ability to assess crowd’s emotion
New analyses explain how people detect an angry mob or a happy party.
- Neuroscience
High-fat diet’s negative effect on memory may fade
Brain may find way to compensate for memory impairments linked to high-fat diets, study in rats shows.
- Paleontology
300 million-year-old giant shark swam the Texas seas
Fossil find shows oldest known ‘supershark,’ about the size of a limo, prowled the ocean 300 million years ago.
