Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
To study attention, pay attention to bats
Studying how bats’ brains find prey using echolocation could have implications for the way human brains pay attention.
- Animals
A brief history of animal death in space
The Russian “sexy space geckos” join a long list of creatures that have died after humans sent them into space.
- Health & Medicine
Two-part vaccine protects monkeys from Ebola
An experimental vaccine protected macaques from infection with the Ebola virus up to 10 months after receiving the two-shot regimen.
- Genetics
Molecular biologist honors ancient bones
After deciphering an ancient skeleton’s genetic secrets, molecular biologist Sarah Anzick helped reinter the remains.
- Paleontology
‘Dinosaur 13’ details custody battle for largest T. rex
Documentary details nasty custody battle over the dinosaur nicknamed Sue, the largest T. rex skeleton ever found.
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- Genetics
A story about why people get fat may be just that
In this issue, reporters look at efforts to find the genes that could be responsible for the obesity crisis and how evolution acts on diseases such as Ebola and tuberculosis.
- Animals
Numbers of California blue whales rebound
Blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, were hunted nearly to extinction. Now the population that feeds off the coast of California appears to have rebounded to close to prewhaling numbers.
- Genetics
Ancient famine-fighting genes can’t explain obesity
Scientists question the long-standing notion that adaptation — specifically the evolution of genes that encourage humans to hold on to fat so they can survive times of famine — has driven the obesity crisis.
- Microbes
Magnets diagnose malaria in minutes
A small magnet-based device provides faster, more-sensitive malaria diagnosis in mice.
- Animals
Archerfish mouth is the secret of precision spit
Trained fish shoot down two hypotheses for their fine spit control but reveal fancy mouth work.
- Genetics
Source of coffee’s kick found in its genetic code
Coffee doubled up on caffeine-making genes. Those genes evolved independently from similar ones found in tea and chocolate plants.
