Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Love Code: A twist of light only mantis shrimp can see
Alone in the animal kingdom, these crustaceans signal their presence to potential mates with circularly polarized light.
- Animals
Moths’ memories
Sphinx moths appear to remember experiences they had as caterpillars, suggesting some brain cells remain intact through metamorphosis.
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- Animals
Gator Aids: Gators squish lungs around to dive and roll
Alligator researchers say they have discovered a new role for lungs as maneuvering aids under water.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Vatican Identifies Sinful Field of Science
Would the Pope have shut down Gregor Mendel’s pea studies?
By Janet Raloff - Plants
City life changes style of weed seeds
City living pushes for rapid evolution in the seed strategy of a little yellow flower along French sidewalks.
By Susan Milius - Plants
Promiscuous orchids
When pollinators aren't loyal to a single species of orchid, the plants maintain their species integrity by stymieing reproduction.
- Paleontology
Twice upon a Time
New fossil finds suggest that the complex features of mammals originated earlier than previously thought and might even have evolved independently in different mammalian lineages.
By Amy Maxmen - Animals
Hidden Depths: Antarctic krill startle deep-ocean scientists
The first camera lowered 3,000 meters to the seabed off the coast of Antarctica videoed what biologists identify as the supposedly upper-ocean species of Antarctic krill.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Great spots for white sharks
The great white sharks of the eastern Pacific may be genetically isolated from the world's other white sharks, and tagging data reveal that the animals stick to specific routes and destinations.
- Ecosystems
Predators return
Warming waters could push new predators into Antarctica's delicate ecosystems.
- Life
Banishing Sense-less Reporting
Scientific reports don't have to be dry, although they all-too-frequently are.
By Janet Raloff