Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Ancient horse’s DNA fills in picture of equine evolution
An entire genome compiled from a 700,000-year-old bone yields new information about equine history.
- Animals
Lemurs’ group size predicts social intelligence
Primates that live with many others know not to steal food when someone is watching.
- Animals
Elephant diets changed millions of years before their teeth
The animals fed on grasses long before their molars could grind the tough plants.
- Life
Brain cell insulators are short-timers
Limited myelin production time may make it harder to repair nerve casings damaged by multiple sclerosis.
- Life
Cabbage circadian clocks tick even after picking
Daily cycles in vegetables help ward off hungry caterpillars.
- Life
On the trail of a new virus
Map of MERS infection finds microbe spread through hospital dialysis units.
- Animals
In dark fishing spiders, males’ postmating nap is permanent
Species prepares for two pairings but goes into a fatal coma after a single encounter.
- Animals
Oysters may struggle to build shells as carbon dioxide rises
Ocean acidification could hamper larvae's growth.
- Animals
Butterflies’ tidy drinking tricks
The long tube of the insects' mouthparts is fluid friendly only at the tip.
- Life
Leprosy bacterium changed little in last millennium
Genome alterations probably not responsible for decline in disease prevalence.
- Life
Primitive fish could nod but not shake its head
Ancient fossils reveal surprises about early vertebrate necks, abdominal muscles.
- Animals
In the Eye of the Tiger
Global spread of Asian tiger mosquito could fuel outbreaks of tropical disease in temperate regions.
