Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Animals

    Rare fossils expand evolutionary history of sperm whales

    A pygmy fossil unearthed in Panama reveals that the organ the whales use to produce sound and echolocate shrunk over time.

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  2. Paleontology

    This dinosaur’s ride may have been a glide

    A new dino called Yi qi may have taken to the skies with wings akin to those of pterosaurs and flying squirrels.

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  3. Plants

    A protein battle underlies the beauty of orchids

    The petal-and-lip shape that draws pollinators to orchids results from a competition between two protein complexes, a new study finds.

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  4. Ecosystems

    Just 1 percent of Amazon’s trees hold half of its carbon

    Roughly 1 percent of tree species in the Amazon rainforest account for half of the jungle’s carbon storage.

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  5. Earth

    Hidden water found deep beneath Antarctica desert valley

    New imaging reveals liquid water network beneath Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys that could support microbial life.

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  6. Neuroscience

    For the blind, hearing the way forward can be a tradeoff

    Many blind people have enhanced hearing. A new study shows that the ability to hear your way forward might come at the cost of hearing up and down.

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  7. Neuroscience

    Brain on display

    In her online videos, Nancy Kanwisher goes where few other neuroscientists go.

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  8. Animals

    Woolly mammoth DNA shows toll of low diversity

    A new sequencing analysis of two woolly mammoth genomes reveals evidence of genetic decline due to isolation and inbreeding just prior to extinction.

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  9. Paleontology

    ‘Frankenstein’ dinosaur was a mash-up of meat eater and plant eater

    Fossils of a bizarre-looking dinosaur found in Chile are challenging ideas about how dinosaurs adapted to their environments.

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  10. Microbes

    City- and country-dwelling microbes aren’t so different

    A new study reveals the microbial communities in our nation’s dust.

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  11. Genetics

    Gene in human embryos altered by Chinese researchers

    Chinese researchers have genetically altered human embryos.

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  12. Genetics

    Genetic editing can delete deleterious mitochondria

    A new technique slates mutant mitochondria for destruction.

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