Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Ancient hominids used wooden spears to fend off big cats
Saber-toothed cat remains suggest ancient hominids used wooden spears as defensive weapons.
- Paleontology
Land life spared in Permian extinction, geologists argue
New rock layer dating in South Africa’s Karoo Basin suggests that extinctions of land species didn’t coincide with the Permian extinction around 252 million years ago.
- Animals
Big cats hunt livestock when wild prey is scarce
Lions, tigers and other big cats tend to hunt livestock only after their wild prey has dropped in availability, a new study shows.
- Climate
Kangaroo farts may not be so eco-friendly after all
Kangaroos fart methane, but not much thanks to the metabolism of gut microbes
- Health & Medicine
Parasite gives a man cancer
Tapeworms can kick parasitism up a notch to become cancer, a case in Colombia shows.
- Neuroscience
Brain’s GPS cells map time and distance, not just location
Brain’s GPS cells map time and distance, too.
- Neuroscience
Blood exerts a powerful influence on the brain
Instead of just responding to the energy needs of neurons, the blood can have a direct and powerful influence on the brain.
- Animals
Color of light sets dung beetles straight
Dung beetles may rely on green and ultraviolet colors in the sky to help orient themselves.
- Paleontology
Ancient larvae built predator-thwarting mazes
Mazelike tunnels built by ancient insect larvae offered protection from predators, paleontologists propose.
- Animals
Diagram captures microbes’ influence across animal kingdom
A network diagram of animal species shows that many microbes living in humans also make themselves at home in dogs, pigs and cattle.
- Animals
Hunchbacked conchs jump at the smell of danger
Hunchbacked conchs are among the most vigorous of snailkind’s few jumpers.
- Paleontology
Vampire microbes sucked some ancient life dry
Hole-ridden fossils suggest that vampirelike microbes were among the first predators that targeted eukaryotes.
