Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
Salty Old Cellulose: Tiny fibers found in ancient halite deposits
Researchers have recovered microscopic bits of cellulose from 253-million-year-old salt deposits deep underground.
- Animals
Night Flights: Migrating moths may use a nighttime compass
Silver Y moths choose to fly when wind blows in the same direction that they migrate, and they may even compensate when the wind pushes them off-course.
- Health & Medicine
Refugee Polio Scare Can Be Costly
There can be hidden, and substantial, costs to polio outbreaks among immigrant refugees.
- Ecosystems
Refugee Policy Needs a Shot in the Arm
Sometimes spending a little money on vaccinations up front can save a bundle down the line.
- Animals
Farm girl has the chops
The first big family tree presenting the history of fungus-growing ants shows the leaf-cutters as the newest branch, and a very recent one at that.
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- Plants
Floral Shocker: Blooms shake roots of flowering-plant family
A tiny aquatic plant, once thought to be related to grasses, raises new questions about the evolution of the earliest flowering plants.
- Animals
Finch Concerts: Female bird brain notes male attention
Male zebra finches sing slightly differently when serenading a female as opposed to twittering to themselves, and females react to those differences.
- 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.
