Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Pulsing blob makes memories sans brain
Slime molds create a GPS navigation system based on their own gooey trails.
By Susan Milius -
- Life
2012 medicine Nobel honors research on reprogramming adult cells
John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka share this year's prize.
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- Life
Scent Into Action
Rodent responses to a whiff of predator may offer clues to instinct in the brain.
By Meghan Rosen - Humans
Human-Neandertal mating gets a new date
Late Stone Age interbreeding between Neandertals and people may have left a mark on Europeans’ DNA.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Duck-billed dino could slice and dice
Ancient animal’s teeth were made of six different tissue types.
By Erin Wayman - Life
Mouse stem cells yield viable eggs
Japanese scientists’ technical feat might provide new insights about protecting and extending human fertility.
- Life
Black mamba bite packs potent painkiller
Scientists find that a component of snake venom blocks pain-sensing nerve signals.
By Tanya Lewis - Animals
Right eye required for finding Mrs. Right
Finches flirt unwisely if they can only use their left eyes.
By Susan Milius - Chemistry
Chemical bond shields extreme microbes from poison
Molecular structure explains how ‘arsenic life’ bacteria instead survive by fishing out phosphate from their surroundings.
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