Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Alligators breathe like birds
Tricky measurements of flow reveal that air moves through the animal in one direction.
- Climate
Acidifying ocean may stifle phytoplankton
Chemical changes in seawater make a key nutrient less available to these organisms.
- Life
Soybean genome turns out to be soysoybeanbean
The plant's newly sequenced genetic blueprint includes a surprising number of spare copies.
- Life
Why light makes migraines worse
A new study traces brain wiring to discover why light increases migraine pain.
- Life
Sea slug steals genes for greens, makes chlorophyll like a plant
A sea slug, long known as a kidnapper of algal biochemistry, can make its own supply of a key photosynthetic compound.
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- Life
Bornavirus genes found in human DNA
Researchers have found molecular fossils of an RNA virus in human and other mammalian genomes, pushing back the emergence of RNA viruses millions of years.
- Earth
Footprints could push back tetrapod origins
Newly discovered trackways much older than previous evidence for sea-to-land transition.
- Life
Moss counters shortness with A-bomb-style clouds
Sphagnum overcomes drag by launching its spores in vortex rings.
- Humans
Pet tarantulas can pose a hairy threat
A new medical case report reaffirms why even largely non-venomous tarantulas can make questionable pets. Some respond to stress by expelling a cloud of barbed hairs that can lodge in especially vulnerable tissues. Like your eyeball.
- Life
Cancer plaguing Tasmanian devils began in one animal’s nerve cells
Genetics provide a starting point for diagnosis and potential vaccines.
- Climate
Warming has already boosted insect breeding
Museum records, publications suggest extra generations at same time as temperature increases
