Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Tropical plant knows whose bill is in its flowers
A rainforest plant avoids inbreeding by accepting pollen only from hummingbird species that must travel to reach it.
- Health & Medicine
Secondhand smoke exposure in womb linked to eczema in childhood
Secondhand smoke exposure in the womb may heighten risk of eczema and other dermatitis in children, a study finds.
- Humans
Breast-feeding newborns might limit their allergy to pets later
Breast-feeding newborns might limit their allergy to pets later by inducing a protective mix of gut microbes in the baby.
- Animals
Delicate spider takes down tough prey by attacking weak spots
The Loxosceles gaucho recluse spider can take down a heavily armored harvestman by attacking its weak spots, a new study reveals.
- Life
Superfast evolution observed in soil bacteria
Natural selection resurrects flagella in soil bacteria in just four days.
- Plants
Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
- Anthropology
Wheat reached England before farming
European hunter-gatherers may have traded for agricultural products 8,000 years ago.
- Life
Sexual conflict in mosquitoes may have worsened spread of malaria
Sexual conflict in Anopheles mosquitoes may have intensified their power to fuel human malaria.
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- Neuroscience
Bees may merge their flower memories
Bumblebees sometimes prefer fake flowers with the combined patterns and colors of ones seen before, suggesting they merge memories of past experiences.
- Life
Chili peppers’ pain-relieving secrets uncovered
Scientists discover how stuff that makes chili peppers hot relieves pain.
- Animals
Some cicadas drum up a beat with the help of their wings
By using their wings as drumsticks, so-called “mute” cicadas can make themselves heard.
