Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Gene makes old cells act young again
Turning on a gene called Lin28a in old, damaged tissue may help the cells heal quicker.
- Plants
In dry times, these trees invest in ants
The insects provide adequate defense by ganging up on leaf-eating caterpillars and biting their undersides until the herbivores fall off the tree.
- Life
Immune system follows circadian clock
Mice with jet lag have boosted supply of cells linked to inflammation.
- Life
Getting to know the real living dead
A look at the bacteria inside bloated cadavers finds the dead are teeming with life.
- Animals
Pink armadillos ain’t your Texas critters
It’s a real animal, the smallest armadillo species in the world. At about 100 grams, it would fit in your hands.
- Neuroscience
Monkeys control two arms in virtual reality
A new brain-computer interface has enabled movement of two virtual limbs at the same time.
- Microbes
Bacteria starved in space grow better
Given limited resources microbes in microgravity make more new cells than their counterparts on Earth.
- Paleontology
Oldest known T. Rex relative found in Utah
Researchers say the animal — named the gore king of the southwest — was an early member of the tyrannosaur family.
- Life
Newborns’ weak immunity may allow helpful bacteria to gain a foothold
Though infant immune systems raise risk of infection, they also allow good microbes into the body, study in mice shows.
- Neuroscience
Autism may be detectable in baby’s first months of life
Infants later diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder lose tendency to gaze at others’ eyes during first half-year, researchers find.
- Animals
Birds avoid the sounds of roads
The sound of cars driving down a road is enough to deter many bird species from an area.
- Animals
‘Bearded ladies’ are less sexy to male lizards
Females with masculine neck marks are passed over as mates.
