Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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- Health & Medicine
Perchlorate: A Saga Continues
Perchlorate is not yet a household word in many parts of the country. But it may becomes one if Sen. Barbara Boxer has her way. Perchlorate – an ingredient in solid rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives – taints drinking-water supplies around the nation, not to mention plenty of foods. In animal tests, the pollutant […]
- Ecosystems
Bring in the replacements
Missing links in ecosystems disrupted by extinctions could be restored by introducing species that perform the same function, new field experiments suggest.
- Life
Brittle arms lose muscle
In lab simulations of future ocean conditions, brittle stars grow extra-calcified but puny arms.
- Life
Not so different after all
Plague bacteria may be deadlier than its harmless cousin because of a few small genetic changes.
- Life
The Arctic isn’t alone
Insects and other animals that regulate their body temperature externally may be especially vulnerable as the world warms.
- Life
DNA tweak no good for diabetics
A genetic variation that increases levels of a blood-building protein also ups the risk of developing complications from diabetes.
- Life
Coral keeps it in the family
The nutrients released during mass coral spawning feed the whole ecosystem.
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- Animals
Twee Twee Tweetle
Bird brains have a separate pathway for the babbling nonsense of baby talk.
- Animals
Sexy side of UV-B
The first evidence of ultraviolet-B courtship in animals comes from jumping spiders.
- Life
Bring out your dead cells
A protein called Six-Microns-Under turns certain fruit fly brain cells into undertakers to clear away dead neighbors.
