Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Animals

    How a spider spins electrified nanosilk

    The cribellate orb spider (Uloborus plumipes) hacks and combs its silk to weave electrically charged nanofibers, a new study suggests.

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  2. Neuroscience

    Chicks show left-to-right number bias

    Recently hatched chicks may have their own version of the left-to-right mental number line.

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  3. Genetics

    Pregnancy in mammals evolved with help from roving DNA

    DNA that “jumped” around the genome helped early mammals shift from laying eggs to giving birth to live young.

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  4. Neuroscience

    Newly identified brain circuit could be target for treating obesity

    In mice, specific nerve cells control compulsive sugar consumption, but not normal feeding, hinting at a new therapeutic target for treating obesity.

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  5. Plants

    Plant chemical weaponry may offer ammunition for pesticides

    Chemicals produced by two plant species disrupt insect hormone pathways and could be developed in to efficient, safe pesticides.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Ebola vaccine performs well in U.K. human trial

    A vaccine that protects against the Zaire strain of Ebola turns in promising preliminary results from a human trial.

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  7. Science & Society

    Smell circuitry, stalled stem cells and more reader feedback

    Readers discuss a journal's publishing practices, ask about the human sense of smell and weigh in on their favorite picks from our Top 25 stories of the year.

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  8. Animals

    Highway bridge noise disturbs fish’s hearing

    In the lab, blacktail shiners had trouble hearing courtship growls over Alabama bridge traffic recordings.

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  9. Animals

    Ant-eating bears help plants

    A complex web of interactions gives a boost to rabbitbrush plants when black bears consume ants.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Immune system may remember and adapt to stress

    Mice without immune systems who receive stressed immune cells are less anxious and more social, suggesting that the immune system can adapt to stress.

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  11. Animals

    Chameleon tongue power underestimated

    A South African chameleon species can shoot its tongue with up to 41,000 watts of power per kilogram of muscle involved, a new study finds.

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  12. Ecosystems

    ‘Earth: A New Wild’ puts people in the picture

    PBS nature series ‘Earth: A New Wild’ shows humans living with, and not off, their environments

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