Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Genome 10K: A new ark
Featured blog: Researchers are working to catalog the DNA sequences of just about every vertebrate genus.
By Janet Raloff - Animals
Textbook case of color-changing spider reopened
Female crab spiders switch colors to match flowers but may not fool their prey
By Susan Milius - Animals
Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs
When mistaken for females, the guys release an alarming pheromone.
By Susan Milius - Life
Birds’ eyes, not beaks, sense magnetic fields
A new study pinpoints migratory songbirds’ magnetic compass in a specific brain region.
- Life
Three dino types may be just three dino ages
Study suggests three dinos placed in separate taxa are actually from one group at different growth stages
- Life
Spiders love sweet smell of blood perfume
For on spider species, feeding on blood-gorged mosquitoes adds charm to a mate
By Susan Milius - Earth
Unicorn fly of the Cretaceous
An ancient fly discovered trapped in amber sports a horn atop its head and topped with three eyes.
- Life
African genetic diversity
Researchers are just beginning to explore the genetic landscape of the cradle of humanity
- Humans
A gene critical for speech
Scientists argue a newly discovered stretch of DNA essential for larynx development may have allowed the evolution of language.
- Life
Humpback whale alters song if another one sings along
Acoustical study of male songs shows first evidence of the whales responding musically to each other.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Ancient giant beavers did not chow on trees
The now-extinct animals had a hippo-like diet
By Sid Perkins - Life
Estrogen helps ward off belly fat
Hormone is one reason that men and women carry weight differently