Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Bundles of cells hint at biological differences of autistic brains
Using miniature organoids that mimic the human brain, scientists have identified developmental differences between autistic children and their non-autistic family members.
- Neuroscience
How screams shatter the brain
The acoustical properties of screams make them hard to ignore, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Polar bears’ ‘walking hibernation’ not much of an energy saver
Summer’s “walking hibernation” doesn’t shut down polar bears as much as winter does.
- Life
Good luck outsmarting a mosquito
Mosquitoes use their senses in sophisticated combinations and sequences to find you.
- Plants
Defense hormones guide plant roots’ mix of microbes
Plants use salicylic acid to attract some bacteria to roots and repel others.
- Animals
Birds learn what danger sounds like
In just two days, superb fairy-wrens learned to recognize an unfamiliar alarm call as a sign that a predator loomed.
- Neuroscience
How screams shatter the brain
The acoustical properties of screams make them hard to ignore, a new study suggests.
- Genetics
Melonomics: Sounds like a cancer, smells like a melon
The project that published the first melon genome dubbed itself melonomics.
- Life
Shifted waking hours may pave the way to shifting metabolism
Shift workers are at higher risk for obesity and metabolic problems. Scientists are working hard to understand why the night shift makes our hormones go awry.
- Neuroscience
‘Speed cells’ found in rats’ brains
Newly discovered “speed cells” clock rats’ swiftness.
- Animals
Feeding seabirds may give declining populations a boost
Supplementing the diets of kittiwakes with additional food might give fledglings a head start, a new study finds.
- Neuroscience
Putting time’s mysteries in order
Investigating both the orderly and disorderly dimensions of time provides the focus for a special issue of Science News.
