Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Animals
World’s smallest snail record broken again
Snails may not be speedy, but itty-bitty snail shells found in Borneo are breaking a size record at a breakneck pace.
- Animals
Just when you thought snails couldn’t get any smaller…
Snails may not be speedy, but itty-bitty snail shells found in Borneo are breaking a size record at a breakneck pace.
- Plants
Marsh grass masquerades as a native species
The abundant cordgrass found in South American marshes may actually have invaded the region more than two centuries ago, a new study concludes.
- Animals
‘On the Wing’ chronicles origins of flying animals
In "On the Wing," a biomechanicist reviews how animals took to the air.
- Earth
New fascination with Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’
The Mesoproterozoic era, known as the boring billion, had very low oxygen, but it set the stage for the evolution of animals.
- Neuroscience
Itch-busting nerve cells could block urge to scratch
A group of nerve cells in the spinal cord keep mechanical itch in check.
- Anthropology
Petite primate fossil could upend ideas about ape evolution
Ancient fossils suggest modern apes descended from a small, gibbonlike creature.
