Animals
Crabs’ sideways walk may have evolved just once
A study of 50 crab species in Japan traces the iconic sideways walk to a single ancestor, suggesting the trait drove the group's remarkable diversity.
Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Life
- Health & Medicine
Hantavirus questions grow in the wake of a cruise ship outbreak
Scientists still don’t know why Andes hantavirus is the only one shown to spread from person to person.
- Animals
Territorial conflict may explain male primates’ large size
Male primates may be larger than females partly because of pressure from rival groups, not just competition with males inside their own group.
- Paleontology
If wings came before flight, what were they for?
Scientists use simulated dinosaurs to trigger real insect brains and test how wings originally evolved.
- Neuroscience
Why some brain cells are particularly vulnerable to multiple sclerosis
DNA damage from inflammation outpaces the cells’ ability to self-repair. The finding, in human brain cells and mice, could point to new MS treatments.
- Neuroscience
25 people learned to fly with virtual wings. Here’s how the brain changed
A new study shows learning to fly in virtual reality with virtual wings can reshape the brain, making it treat wings more like body parts.
- Archaeology
Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools
Finds at sites in Spain and France suggest that Neandertals used the teeth of ancient rhinos for heavy-duty fabrication.
- Animals
Singing mice puff up air sacs to make their sweet songs
To serenade with their high-pitched songs, singing mice inflate a throat sac — a use for air sacs seemingly unknown in any other animal.
- Health & Medicine
What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea
Public health officials are racing to find out how the sometimes deadly hantavirus got aboard a cruise ship and if there has been human-to-human spread.
- Neuroscience
Newly mapped brain networks link far-flung regions
In mouse brains, star-shaped astrocytes form flexible networks that may offer another way for brain regions to communicate.
