Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Amazonian bird may act the part of its hairy caterpillar disguise
A rare view of a baby cinereous mourner feeds debate over whether the bird both looks and acts the part of a toxic hairy caterpillar as defense against predators.
- Neuroscience
Soft brain implant helps paralyzed rats walk again
Scientists have made a soft, flexible electrical implant that mimics the elasticity of the brain and spine's protective tissue.
- Animals
Disco clams may flash chemical-weapons warning
Puzzling disco clam light show might warn predators not to bite.
- Climate
Galápagos waters preview future for corals
Posthumous analysis of Galápagos coral reefs reveals how climate change, carbon dioxide and pollution could kill off reefs worldwide by 2050.
- Animals
‘Bag of chips effect’ helps bats find a meal
Bats get a clue to where dinner is by listening to peers attacking prey.
- Health & Medicine
New antibiotic candidate shows promise
Tests in lab dishes and mice suggest an experimental compound called teixobactin can kill staph, TB microbes and other bacteria.
- Animals
How many wildebeest? Ask a satellite
High-resolution satellite imagery could offer a reliable way to count large mammals in open habitats from space.
- Neuroscience
PET scans hint at brain’s reorganization after injury
Imaging monkeys’ brains after strokelike injury is giving scientists clues to how neurons reorganize themselves so the animals can move again.
- Animals
Bowhead whales may unlock the secrets to a long, healthy life
Analyzing the genome of the bowhead whale may help scientists understand how the animals live for more than 200 years.
- Animals
Little African cats need big parks
Protecting African wildcats requires large protected areas free of feral cats to avoid the risk of the wild species disappearing through hybridization.
- Animals
White-nose syndrome messes with bats’ metabolisms
Bats with the deadly white-nose syndrome use twice as much fat for energy as their healthy companions in winter months.
- Life
Cold coddles colds
Antiviral responses aren’t as effective against common cold viruses in cooler temperatures.
