Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Caribou gut parasites indirectly create a greener tundra
Caribou merely sickened by parasites eat less vegetation, allowing plants to flourish.
- Animals
These dolphins may turn to corals for skin care
For Indo-Pacific bottlenosed dolphins, rubbing against corals and sea sponges that contain antibacterial compounds could help keep skin healthy.
- Science & Society
COVID-19 has killed a million Americans. Our minds can’t comprehend that number
We intuitively compare large, approximate quantities but cannot grasp such a big, abstract number as a million U.S. COVID-19 deaths.
- Animals
A ‘mystery monkey’ in Borneo may be a rare hybrid. That has scientists worried
Severe habitat fragmentation caused by expanding palm oil plantations may have driven two primate species to mate that wouldn’t have otherwise.
- Physics
Experiments hint at why bird nests are so sturdy
A bird’s nest is a special version of a granular material. Lab experiments and computer simulations explain its quirky behavior.
- Animals
Baby marmosets may practice their first distinctive cries in the womb
Ultrasounds tracking fetal mouth movements in baby marmosets pinpoint the early development of the motor skills needed for vocalization.
- Life
These bats buzz like wasps and bees. The sound may deter hungry owls
Researchers have identified what may be the first known case of a mammal mimicking an insect.
- Agriculture
Oat and soy milks are planet friendly, but not as nutritious as cow milk
Plant-based milks are better for the environment, but nutrition-wise they fall behind cow milk.
- Neuroscience
A very specific kind of brain cell dies off in people with Parkinson’s
Of out 10 kinds of dopamine-making nerve cells, only one type is extra vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease.
- Animals
Some hamsters are extremely susceptible to COVID-19
Golden Syrian hamsters used in research and popular as pets can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 with very low doses of the virus, a new study suggests.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have had brightly colored feathers on their heads
The fossil skull of a flying reptile hints that feathers originated about 100 million years earlier than scientists thought.
- Animals
Dog breed is a surprisingly poor predictor of individual behavior
Despite the popular conviction that dog breeds are associated with specific traits, breed accounts for only 9 percent of behavioral differences.
