Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Thanks for the pounds, Mom
When inherited from mom, a gene linked to obesity and diabetes interferes with blood sugar metabolism.
- Animals
Invasion of the salmon
Chinook salmon, dwindling in the United States, go wild in South America.
- Paleontology
Ancient burrows
Triassic-era sediments unearthed in Antarctica reveal the well-preserved lair of a four-legged, mammal-like reptile.
- Paleontology
A mammoth divide
Woolly mammoths roamed Siberia in two distinct clans, and the split between the groups, scientists say, is surprisingly deep, occurring more than 1 million years ago.
- Life
Simple body, complex blueprints
Genes key to the development of modern animals' body plans show up in primitive-looking comb jellies.
- Health & Medicine
Wake up and smell the java
The smell of coffee leads to changes in gene activity in sleep-deprived rats, hinting at the molecular basis for the relaxing effect of the aroma seen in experiments.
- Health & Medicine
Nabbing suspicious SNPs
Scientists search the whole genome for clues to common diseases.
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- Animals
BOOK LIST | Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human
The story of a chimp being raised by humans —and washing the dishes (p.130). NIM CHIMPSKY: THE CHIMP WHO WOULD BE HUMAN Bantam Books, 2008, 269 p., $23.
- Health & Medicine
Tame-walk potion
A one-two sting and a cockroach lets a wasp lead it like a dog on a leash.
- Chemistry
Life before proteins
Spheres of fat suggest a way that life on Earth could have gotten started.
