News in Brief
- Neuroscience
Children’s brains shaped by music training
After two years of an enrichment program, children’s brains showed more sophisticated response to spoken syllables.
- Astronomy
Milky Way connected to a vast network of galaxies
The Milky Way galaxy lives on the outer edge of a newly discovered supercluster of galaxies named Laniakea that is 520 million light-years across.
- Health & Medicine
Trial drug improves heart failure patients’ chance of survival
Novartis’ experimental therapy LCZ696 lowers blood pressure and increases survival rates when compared with a standard drug.
- Animals
Bats hunt ballooning túngara frogs by echolocation
Bat echolocation tracks the billowing vocal sacs of male túngara frogs.
- Life
ZMapp drug fully protects monkeys against Ebola virus
In a test, 18 monkeys injected with the Ebola virus and treated with an experimental drug called ZMapp survived.
- Neuroscience
Pulses to the brain bring memory gains
The ability to associate faces with words is boosted when an outer part of the brain is stimulated, a study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Human tests of experimental Ebola vaccine set to start
NIH and NIAID have announced that human tests of an experimental vaccine against Ebola virus will begin in early September.
- Life
Gut bacteria may prevent food allergies
In mice, gut bacteria blocked food from seeping out of the intestines and triggering an immune reaction in the bloodstream.
- Animals
Corals, fish know bad reefs by their whiff
Compounds drifting off certain overgrown seaweeds discourage young corals and fish from settling in failing reefs.
- Anthropology
Richard III ate like a king before biting the dust
King Richard III’s brief reign included a sudden shift to eating fancy food and drink.
- Materials Science
Magnets get flipped by light
Controlling magnetism with lasers could lead to faster computer hard drives.
- Animals
Hummingbirds evolved a strange taste for sugar
While other birds seem to lack the ability to taste sugar, hummingbirds detect sweetness using a repurposed sensor that normally responds to savory flavors.
