Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Lamprey Allure: Females rush to males’ bile acid
An unusual sex attractant has turned up in an analysis of sea lampreys, and it may inspire new ways to defend the Great Lakes against invasive species.
- Animals
Real pandas do handstands
A giant panda that upends itself into a handstand may be sending a message that it's one big bamboo-thrasher and not to be messed with.
- Animals
Nephews, Cousins . . . Who Cares? Detecting kin doesn’t mean favoring them
New tests of the amazing nose power of Belding's ground squirrels has solved a 25-year-old puzzle about doing dangerous favors for relatives.
- Animals
Lemonade from Broken Amber
The fossilized microbes found inside termites that have been encased in amber for 20 million years are remarkably similar to those found within the ancient insects' modern cousins.
- Animals
Cold Hamsters: Wild species boosts immunity for winter
Hamsters that have to survive winter outdoors in Siberia rev up their immune systems, including their response to psychological stress, when days grow short.
- Animals
Leave It to Evolution: Duplicated gene aids odd monkey diet
A duplicated gene that has rapidly evolved helps certain monkey species thrive on a diet of leaves.
- Paleontology
Old Frilly Face: Triceratops’ relative fills fossil-record gap
Fossils of a creature the size of a Texas jackrabbit cast new light on the early evolution of a group of horned dinosaurs that include the 8-meter-long Triceratops.
- Paleontology
Early hunters are guilty as charged
Scientists find that hunting is the likely cause of New Zealand's prehistoric bird extinctions rather than habitat destruction or pest introduction.
- Paleontology
Did Mammals Spread from Asia? Carbon blip gives clue to animals’ Eden
A new dating of Chinese fossils buttresses the idea than an Asian Eden gave rise to at least one of the groups of mammal species that appeared in North America some 55 million years ago.
- Plants
Fringy flowers are hard to dunk
The fringe on the edges of the floating blooms of water snowflake flowers helps protect the important parts from getting drenched in dunkings.
- Ecosystems
Are They Really Extinct?
A few optimists keep looking for species that might already have gone extinct.
- Paleontology
Duck-faced croc had a gap-toothed grin
Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of a tiny crocodile that boasted a smile like no other: The animal had no teeth across the entire front of its mouth.
