Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Microbes
One giant leap for zit-causing microbes
A bacterium that lives on humans and causes acne also hopped to domesticated grapevines and relies on the plant for crucial DNA repairs.
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- Neuroscience
What’s behind rising autism rates
Better diagnosis may be driving a recent spike in autism.
- Life
Find your inner fish with PBS series on human evolution
A new documentary explores how the human body came together over 3.5 billion years of animal evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Triclosan aids nasal invasions by staph
The antimicrobial compound triclosan, commonly found in soaps and toothpaste, may help Staphylococcus aureus stick around.
- Genetics
Modern hunter-gatherers’ guts host distinct microbes
A healthy collection of gut bacteria depends on the environment in which people live and their lifestyle, research shows.
- Climate
Reef fish act drunk in carbon dioxide–rich ocean waters
In first test in the wild, fish near reefs that bubble with CO2 lose fear of predators’ scent.
- Oceans
The surprising life of a piece of sunken wood
Timber and trees that wash out to sea and sink to the bottom of the ocean hold a diverse community of organisms.
- Climate
Ocean bacteria may have shut off ancient global warming
Ocean-dwelling bacteria may have helped end global warming 56 million years ago by gobbling up carbon from the CO2-laden atmosphere.
- Life
How cells keep from popping
The protein SWELL1 stops cells from swelling so much that they burst, a new study shows.
- Animals
Lionfish grow wary after culling
Efforts to control invasive lionfish could make them more difficult to catch.
- Genetics
Five mutations could make bird flu spread easily
Handful of alterations can turn H5N1 bird flu into virus that infects ferrets through the air.
