Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Father’s obesity linked to autism in children
A father-to-be’s body mass may be a greater risk factor for his child’s development of autism than the body mass of the mother.
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- Genetics
Bank voles provide clue to prion disease susceptibility
A protein from bank voles makes mice susceptible to disorders that wouldn’t otherwise infect them.
- Animals
Young vervet monkeys look to mom when learning
Among vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops), behaviors are passed from mother to child, a new study finds.
- Animals
The Thing With Feathers
In the new book, "The Thing With Feathers," Noah Strycker brings people nose to beak with the plumed creatures he knows so well.
- Neuroscience
Paralyzed mouse legs move with burst of light
Neural patch makes leg muscles twitch in paralyzed mice when blue light shines.
- Paleontology
Footprints of dino chase digitally reconstructed
Footprints of a T. rex-type dinosaur chasing an Apatosaurus-like animal have been turned into a 3-D fly-through, giving researchers a way to verify maps of the tracks drawn 70 years ago. (includes video)
- Animals
Pandas enjoy the sweet life
Unlike many of their carnivore relatives, bamboo-loving pandas can taste natural, and some artificial, sugars.
- Neuroscience
Brain’s growth, networks unveiled in new maps
Two large-scale efforts describe human and mouse brains in detail.
- Neuroscience
Lost sleep could mean lost neurons
A new study shows we may not be able to make up for chronic sleep deprivation. The protein SirT3 might protect us against late nights, but all-nighters may produce neuron loss.
- Paleontology
Sea stars sighted predators 79 million years ago
Sea stars may have evolved complex lenselike structures to detect and evade predators at least 79 million years ago.
- Science & Society
Misconduct found in Japanese stem cell research
An investigation into reports describing a type of stem cells called STAP cells has found that the lead researcher is guilty of scientific misconduct.
