Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Where humans go, pepper virus follows
Plant pathogen could help track waters polluted with human waste.
- Animals
Classic view of leaf-cutter ants overlooked nitrogen-fixing partner
A fresh look at a fungus-insect partnership that biologists have studied for more than a century uncovers a role for bacteria.
- Life
Corn genome a maze of unusual diversity
Multiple teams announce complete draft of the maize genome, with a full plate of surprises that include hints about hybrid vigor.
- Life
Climate not really what doomed large North American mammals
Prevalence of a dung fungus over time suggests megafauna extinctions at end of last ice age started before vegetation changed.
- Life
Killer bees aren’t so smart
Brains are probably not what powers the invasive bee’s takeover from European honeybees
- Life
Penguin DNA evolving faster than thought
Comparing the DNA in modern birds to that in ancient generations shows molecular evolution happens at varying rates, and that each species has its own rate of evolution.
- Ecosystems
Impatiens plants are more patient with siblings
Streamside wildflower holds back on leaf competition when roots meet close kin
- Life
Newborn cells clear space in brain’s memory-maker
Rodent study offers first evidence that neurogenesis clears old memories in key part of the brain to make way for new ones.
- Life
Genetic effects suggest FOXP2 role in language evolution
Human version of the protein alters activity of 116 genes compared with the chimp version.
- Paleontology
Small ancestor of giant sauropods unearthed
Fossils suggest that the bipedal dinosaur occasionally walked on all fours and could open its mouth wide to gather foliage.
- Life
Hormones give lantern sharks the glow
In a first, a study shows that bioluminescence can be controlled by slow-acting hormones, not rapid-fire nerve cells.
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