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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Neuroscience

    A brain at rest offers clues to Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s

    PET scans reveal that the breakdown of brain networks differs in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

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  2. Ecosystems

    Noise made by humans can be bad news for animals

    Animals live in a world of sounds. Clever experiments are finally teasing out how human-made noise can cause dangerous distractions.

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  3. Animals

    ‘The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins’ offers window into cetacean societies

    Dolphins and whales pass cultural knowledge to one another, the authors of a new book argue.

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  4. Animals

    Toads prefer to bound, not hop

    The multiple hops made by toads are really a bounding motion similar to movements made by small mammals.

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  5. Plants

    Fairly bad pitcher traps triumph in the end

    Carnivorous pitcher plant traps rarely catch much, but their lackadaisical hunting turns out not to be so lame after all.

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  6. Animals

    Rainforest frogs flourish with artificial homes

    A rainforest frog population grew by about 50 percent when scientists built pools for tadpoles that mimic puddles made by other animals.

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  7. Ecosystems

    Termite mound paradises help buffer dry land against climate change

    Landscapes dotted by Africa’s great termite mounds look on the verge of turning into desert but are, in fact, more resilient.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Shots of brain cells restore learning, memory in rats

    Scientists healed damage caused to rats’ brains from radiation by injecting cells that replenish the insulation on neurons.

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  9. Neuroscience

    With good timing, experiences can rewire old brains

    New experiences can rewire old brains — but the timing has to be just right.

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  10. Paleontology

    Ancient wolf skulls challenge dog domestication timeline

    A 3-D analysis of two ancient canine skulls from Russia and Belgium suggests the fossils were of wolves, not dogs.

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  11. Animals

    Tropical wasps memorize friendly faces

    A social wasp species uses sight and smell to keep intruders from hijacking their nests.

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  12. Neuroscience

    How the brain sees follow-through

    The follow-through on your golf swing is more than just a way to use up extra energy. It’s part of how your brain “sees” a movement.

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