Life
- Life
Early human ancestors didn’t regularly eat meat
Chemicals in the tooth enamel of Australopithecus suggest the early human ancestors ate very little meat, dining on vegetation instead.
By Jake Buehler - Genetics
Iron Age Celtic women’s social and political power just got a boost
Ancient DNA indicates women stayed in their home communities and married partners from outside the area.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Toxin-gobbling bacteria may live on poison dart frog skin
Toxins on poison dart frog skin mold the skin's microbial community, boosting species variety and potentially even feeding some daredevil bacteria.
By Jake Buehler - Animals
Hand-feeding squirrels accidentally changed their skulls
When fed peanuts, red squirrels in Britain developed weaker bites — showing that food supplements to threatened animals could have unintended side effects.
- Neuroscience
How people suppress memories may be key to PTSD recovery
People who recovered from PTSD changed the way their brains handle intrusive thoughts, a study of survivors of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks shows.
- Paleontology
Humans, not climate change, may have wiped out Australia’s giant kangaroos
About 40,000 years ago, giant kangaroos vanished Down Under. Dental analyses suggest a varied diet, meaning climate change was not the main cause.
- Animals
More new geckos have been found hiding in Southeast Asia’s limestone towers
Nearly 200 new gecko species found in living in karst landscapes reveal the rugged regions as dynamic areas of speciation.
- Animals
Poop is on the menu for a surprising number of animals
A new tally finds dozens of species giving food a second go-round, from babies boosting their microbiomes to adults seeking easier-to-access nutrition.
By Susan Milius - Animals
‘Forever chemicals’ are causing health problems in some wildlife
Deformed scales in hatchlings and biomarkers indicative of disease progression are two health impacts on turtles at PFAS-polluted sites in Australia.
- Animals
Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms
A velvet ant bite like “hot oil from the deep fryer” delivers an array of peptides that inflicts pain on insects and mammals alike.
By Amanda Heidt - Neuroscience
The unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memory
Living tissue from the memory centers of people’s brains reveals sparse nerve cell connections that provide strong, reliable signaling between cells.
- Animals
American burying beetles are making a comeback in Nebraska
Thanks to decades of conservation to restore private grasslands, numbers of the threatened insect are on the rise in the Loess Canyons.