Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
- Microbes
Tests turn up dicey bagged ice
Tests of bagged ice found that 19 percent exceeded recommended thresholds for bacterial contamination.
- Health & Medicine
Stem cells from pig fat aid in growing new bone
Scientists transform fat stem cells into bone and grow new jaws for minipigs.
- Animals
City living shortens great tits’ telomeres
Great tits raised in urban nests have shorter protective caps on their chromosomes than those raised in rural nests.
- Health & Medicine
WHO: Very little risk that Brazil’s Olympics will speed Zika’s spread
Olympics not likely to hasten international spread of Zika virus, according to WHO analysis that includes data from previous mass gatherings.
- Animals
Lemurs sing in sync — until one tries to go solo
Indris, a lemur species in Madagascar, sing in synchrony and match rhythm, except for young males trying to stand out.
- Climate
The ‘super’ El Niño is over, but La Niña looms
The 2015–2016 El Niño has officially ended while its meteorological sister, La Niña, brews.
- Genetics
Gene drives aren’t ready for the wild, report concludes
A type of genetic engineering called gene drives need more work, a National Academies report concludes.
-
Desert moss slurps water from its leaves, not roots
To survive in arid deserts across the globe, one moss species replenishes its water stocks by catching dewdrops with its leaves.
- Chemistry
Four newest elements on periodic table get names
Four elements officially recognized in December, highlighted in yellow, now have names that honor Japan, Moscow, Tennessee and physicist Yuri Oganessian.
- Astronomy
Space-based probe passes tests for gravitational wave detection
The LISA Pathfinder mission has demonstrated that future observatories in space could detect gravitational waves.
- Paleontology
Human route into Americas traced via trail of bison fossils
Bread crumbs in the form of ancient bison may mark one potential path that humans took to colonize the Americas.
- Environment
Tiny plastics cause big problems for perch
Researchers have linked microplastics to feeding behavior changes and development issues in Baltic Sea perch.
