Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Gloves may head off ‘garden’ variety pneumonia
Compost feels so good, sifting through a gardener’s fingers. Unfortunately, data are showing, this soil amendment can host a germ responsible for Legionnaire’s disease, a potentially serious form of pneumonia.
- Life
Feud over family ties in evolution
Prominent scientists dispute kinship’s role in self-sacrifice among highly social creatures.
- Life
Hints of altruism among bacteria
E. coli bacteria fight antibiotics with help from drug-resistant neighbors.
- Life
Why starved flies need less sleep
Low lipid levels keep the insects buzzing past bedtime, a new study finds, suggesting a role for metabolism in regulating sleep.
- Health & Medicine
Wheat genome announcement turns out to be small beer
The DNA sequence released by U.K. team still requires assembly.
- Earth
Primordial bestiary gets an annex
A classic Canadian fossil trove extends to thinner deposits, geologists find.
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- Plants
Most energy drinks lag in added health benefits
Many caffeinated tonics lack natural antioxidants and other beneficial compounds found in coffee, yerba maté and other plant-based drinks.
- Life
Unraveling ant genomes yields high hopes
A new study may yield new insights into behavior and life-span in ants and other animals.
- Chemistry
How to bug bugs
New insights on how insect repellents work could eventually help scientists prevent the transmission of diseases like malaria.
- Chemistry
Deep-sea oil plume goes missing
Controversy arises over whether bacteria have completely gobbled oil up.
- Life
‘Whispering’ gives bats the drop on prey
A stealth approach to echolocation appears to be adaptive for catching eared moths.
