Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Main malaria parasite came to humans from gorillas, not chimps
Using DNA from fecal samples, researchers show that the infection was not passed to Homo sapiens by its closest primate relative.
- Health & Medicine
Vital flaw
Liver cells that inherit the wrong number of chromosomes often do just fine, and may even have some advantages.
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- Planetary Science
Life’s cold start
Primordial molecules could have replicated themselves in a slushy place, new experiments suggest.
- Life
Minimolecule may explain how antidepressants work
Research finds that Prozac increases levels of a microRNA and may explain why the drugs take several weeks to work.
- Life
Streetlights turn young duds into studs
Nocturnal illumination starts youthful male blue tits chirping earlier in the morning, tempting the mates of their still-snoozing elders.
- Agriculture
A taste of the chocolate genome
Competing teams have announced the impending completion of the cacao DNA sequence.
- Life
Environmental DNA modifications tied to obesity
Chemical changes that affect gene activity could underlie many common conditions, a new study suggests.
- Life
Cuckoos thrown off by climate change
With earlier springs, the birds are duping a different mix of adoptive parents into raising their young.
- Life
Doing their part by not doing their part
Freeloaders can be good for a community, yeast experiments suggest.
- Chemistry
Cockroach brains, coming to a pharmacy near you
Insect tissue extracts show antibacterial activity in lab experiments.
- Health & Medicine
A cellular secret to long life
Longevity may depend in part on histones, proteins that keep DNA neatly spooled in the cell’s nucleus and help regulate gene activity.
