Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Fruit flies turn on autopilot
High-speed video reveals the aerodynamics behind the insects’ maneuverability.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine works against type 1 diabetes in mouse experiments
Researchers uncover a self-regulating feature of the immune system.
- Life
Eating seaweed may have conferred special digestive powers
Gut microbes in Japanese people may have borrowed genes for breaking down nori from marine bacteria.
- Ecosystems
Pigeons usually let best navigator take the lead
One bird usually leads the flock, but sometimes another gets a turn at the helm.
- Life
Scientists name large but elusive lizard
Though locals knew of it, the 2-meter cousin to Komodo dragons had escaped scientific description.
- Life
Gene variants linked to Crohn disease have little effect, study finds
A genetic variant linked to Crohn disease does not raise the average person’s risk of developing the condition, a new study finds.
- Life
Insulin-producing cells can regenerate in diabetic mice
Animal study finds that the pancreas can spontaneously regenerate beta cells.
- Life
Researchers figure out how flies taste water
A study identifies the cell membrane protein that flies use to detect water’s flavor.
- Life
When two hyenas get the giggles
Laughs of higher-status individuals are more posh, a study in a captive colony suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Bees forage with their guts
Researchers show that a gene helps honeybees choose between nectar and pollen.
- Life
First songbird genome arrives with spring
The genome of a songbird has been decoded for the first time. Zebra finches join chickens as the only birds to have detailed maps of their genetic blueprints.
- Life
Tortoise see, tortoise do
Though they rarely meet, solitary creatures can pick up skills by example.
