Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles
An echidna’s snot bubbles coat the spiny critter’s nose with moisture, which then evaporates and draws heat from the sinus, cooling the blood.
- Science & Society
Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’
In a collection of essays profiling 10 marine animals, author Sabrina Imbler mixes in stories of their own family, self-discovery, sexuality and healing.
- Health & Medicine
4 key things to know about lung infections caused by fungi
News that three kinds of fungi are more widespread than previously thought prompted reader questions about risk, symptoms and more. We answer them.
- Genetics
50 years ago, scientists sequenced a gene for the first time
Within five decades, scientists went from sequencing a single gene to sequencing the entire human genome.
- Microbes
Meet some of the microbes that give cheeses flavor
Knowing which genus of bacteria is responsible for which flavor could open the door to new types of cheese.
- Animals
Jumping beans’ random strategy always leads to shade — eventually
Jumping beans use randomness to maximize their chances of getting out of the sun’s heat, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Fungi that cause serious lung infections are now found throughout the U.S.
Doctors should be on the lookout for three types of fungi that, when inhaled, can lead to serious infections, researchers say.
- Life
Sleeping glass frogs hide by storing most of their blood in their liver
Glass frogs snoozing among leaves blend in by hiding almost all their red blood cells in their liver until the tiny animals wake up.
- Life
Here are 5 record-breaking science discoveries from 2022
The earliest surgery, fastest supercomputer and biggest single-celled bacteria were some of this year’s top science superlatives.
- Life
Squid edit their RNA to keep cellular supply lines moving in the cold
Squid change their RNA more often in the cold, producing motor proteins that keep cellular cargo on track.
- Animals
These are our favorite animal stories of 2022
Goldfish driving cars, skydiving salamanders and spiders dodging postcoital death are among the critters that most impressed the Science News staff.
- Paleontology
Mysterious ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground
Some 230 million years ago, massive dolphinlike reptiles gathered to breed in safe waters — just like many modern whales do, a study finds.
