Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Crayfish get anxious, too
After receiving a shock, crayfish act anxious, avoiding brightly lit areas.
- Animals
Look beyond pest species to find beauty in cockroaches
A few pest species give the group a bad name, but exotic roaches include an amazing diversity of colors and lifestyles.
- Animals
See your lawn through a bird’s eyes with YardMap
A new web tool lets you map your outdoor spaces and wildlife habitat, helping scientists understand how birds use urban and suburban spaces.
- Paleontology
Ancient fish may have set stage for jaws
A fish called Metaspriggina walcotti, which lived roughly 500 million years ago, had body parts that may have later evolved into jaws.
- Animals
Ant sperm swim as a team
The desert ant has sperm that swim in bundles for extra speed, perhaps increasing their likelihood of fertilizing an egg.
- Health & Medicine
Bacteria linked to stress-induced heart attacks
Bacteria may play an underlying role in heart attacks brought on by stress.
- Animals
Winter road salting reshapes next summer’s butterflies
Winter road salt treatments boost sodium in roadside plants and alter development for monarch butterflies.
- Animals
Deadly bat disease gets easier to diagnose
White-nose syndrome in bats can be spotted with UV light, scientists have found.
- Life
Oxytocin stimulates repair of old mice’s muscles
The naturally produced hormone oxytocin, well known for its role in social bonding, may help heal injured muscles in the elderly.
- Health & Medicine
Anesthesia linked to effects on children’s memory
Undergoing anesthesia as an infant may impair a person's ability to recall details later in life, a new study suggests.
- Neuroscience
Rats feel regret, experiment finds
When they turn down a good meal for a lesser one, rodents regret their choice, a study suggests.
- Paleontology
Preserved pterosaur eggs hint at reptile’s social life
The first 3-D pterosaur eggs, which were found in China, suggest that the flying reptiles laid eggs together.
