Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Frilly bug feet inspire a water-striding robot
Ripple bugs’ nimble movements on the surface of water inspired a robot with automatically unfurling fans on its feet.
- Animals
These giant carnivorous bats hug, cuddle — and even share dinner
Infrared cameras in Costa Rica revealed that the world’s largest carnivorous bat maintains close social bonds through wing wraps and prey sharing.
- Health & Medicine
Could babies get bird flu through breast milk? Maybe, a study hints
H5N1 bird flu might infect human mammary glands, potentially allowing the virus to show up in breast milk.
- Animals
Streaked shearwaters poop only while flying over the ocean
In-flight defecation may help the birds stay away from feces that can contain pathogens such as bird flu while also fertilizing the ocean.
- Animals
A single protein makes lovesick flies spill their guts
Producing a male-specific protein in digestion-related neurons may have led to the evolution of an odd “romantic” barfing behavior in one species of fruit flies.
- Planetary Science
Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds
The hypothesis could extend the search for extraterrestrial life to include frigid planets with thin atmospheres and underground water.
- Animals
Warm autumns could be a driver in monarch butterflies’ decline
In the lab, higher temperatures during fall migration led monarchs to break their reproductive pause, increasing their risk of death.
- Paleontology
Dinosaur teeth reveal some were picky eaters
The enamel in fossilized teeth reveals some dinosaurs preferred to eat particular parts of plants.
- Life
Squashing the spotted lanternfly problem may require enlisting other species
The invasive spotted lanternfly has spread to 17 states and can threaten vineyards. But bats, fungi, dogs and even trees may help control them.
- Plants
A newly discovered gene helped this moss defy gravity
A gene called IBSH1 helped spreading earthmoss thrive at high gravity, hinting at how plants adapted to photosynthesize on land.
- Genetics
This snail may hold a secret to human eye regeneration
Golden apple snails can regrow full, functional eyes. Studying their genes may reveal how to repair human eye injuries.
- Plants
These plants build ant condos that keep warring species apart
The unique architecture of some ball-like plants high in trees in Fiji lets violent ants live peacefully and feed the plant with valuable droppings.
