Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Rats with poisonous hairdos live surprisingly sociable private lives
Deadly, swaggering rodents purr and snuggle when they’re with mates and young.
- Paleontology
Newborn megalodon sharks were larger than most adult humans
Preserved pieces of backbone suggest that megalodon sharks were about 2 meters long at birth.
- Neuroscience
Mice may ‘catch’ each other’s pain — and pain relief
Healthy mice mirror a companion’s pain or morphine-induced relief. Disrupting certain connections in the brain turns off such empathetic behaviors.
- Animals
Brown tree snakes use their tails as lassos to climb wide trees
A never-before-seen climbing technique could inspire the creation of new serpentine robots to navigate difficult terrains.
- Climate
Ocean acidification may make some species glow brighter
Ocean organisms use bioluminescence for hunting, defense and more. A new analysis shows that declines in water pH might change who glows and how much.
- Genetics
Some identical twins don’t have identical DNA
Mutations arising early in development may account for genetic differences between identical twins.
- Genetics
Plague may have caused die-offs of ancient Siberians
DNA suggests that the deadly bacterium that causes the plague reached northeast Asia by 4,400 years ago.
- Animals
These spiders may sew leaves into fake shelters to lure frogs to their doom
Madagascar’s huntsman spiders use silk to turn two leaves into a cool hollow. Such microhabitats may appeal to the spiders’ prey, a study suggests.
- Science & Society
These science claims from 2020 could be big news if confirmed
Scientific findings reported this year that still need more proof include potential signs of life on Venus and Earth’s oldest parasites.
- Animals
Rumors of a ‘murder hornet’ apocalypse may have been exaggerated
Murder hornets sightings in the Pacific northwest inspired a mix of concern and delight.
- Animals
Clearing land to feed a growing human population will threaten thousands of species
Changing where, how and what food is grown could largely avoid biodiversity losses, scientists say.
- Animals
Bonobos, much like humans, show commitment to completing a joint task
Experiments with bonobos suggest that humans aren’t the only ones who can feel a sense of mutual responsibility toward other members of their species.
