Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Stressed-out DNA turns mousy brown hair gray
Scientists show how change happens when cells responsible for colorful hair lose their self-renewing abilities.
- Life
Hummingbird pulls Top Gun stunts
Male hummingbirds set record for extreme plunges out of the sky.
- Physics
Friction gives snakes a smooth slither
Combination of friction and push propels snakes forward on flat surfaces.
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- Ecosystems
From sea to squid, thanks to slime
Scientists have revealed new details about the genes — and the goo — that enable luminescent bacteria to colonize their symbiotic marine partner.
- Chemistry
Protein caught in the act
Researchers have developed a new way to see where the molecules are active.
- Life
Huntington’s protein may have a crony
The mutant protein implicated in Huntington’s may rely on a second protein. The finding could help explain why only some neurons are vulnerable to the disease.
- Life
Tickling apes reveals laughter’s origins
Roots of laughter go back at least 10 to 16 million years, study of romping apes suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Nicotine’s role in SIDS
New study in rats explains how smoke exposure may increase risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
- Life
No rest for weary fruit flies
Fruit flies with insomnia may help researchers track genetic factors that lead to the sleep disorder.
- Life
Phony fighters discovered among fig wasps
A newly discovered species of fig wasp has a fraction of dishonest guys with big mouthparts.
- Life
Engineered DNA counts it out
Scientists create a biological system that uses the genetic code to tally up molecular events.
