Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Science & Society
New electrodes can better capture brain waves of people with natural hair
Electrodes weren’t designed for people with thick, curly hair. A redesign is needed, says engineer Pulkit Grover.
- Life
This is the first deep-sea fish known to be a mouthbreeder
Scientists found over 500 eggs attached to the inside of a parazen fish’s mouth.
- Animals
Sea turtles may confuse the smell of ocean plastic with food
Sea turtles respond to the smell of plastic that’s been in the ocean similarly to food, suggesting the reptiles may end up eating the harmful debris.
- Neuroscience
Brain waves common during sleep also show up in awake sheep
Sleep spindles, thought to help solidify memories in people, may do similar work during wakefulness if these daytime ripples occur in humans.
- Animals
Bright yellow spots help some orb weaver spiders lure their next meal
Experiments with cardboard arachnids suggest that orb weaver spiders have evolved yellow colorations on their undersides to attract bees and moths.
- Animals
Glowing frogs and salamanders may be surprisingly common
A widespread ability to glow in striking greens, yellows and oranges could make amphibians easier to track down in the wild.
- Life
A distant cousin of jellyfish may survive without working mitochondria
A tiny creature that parasitizes salmon is the first known multicellular eukaryote without a mitochondrial genome, a hallmark of complex life.
- Humans
The earliest known hominid interbreeding occurred 700,000 years ago
The migration of Neandertal-Denisovan ancestors to Eurasia some 700,000 years ago heralded hookups with a resident hominid population.
- Life
How African turquoise killifish press the pause button on aging
The fish’s embryos can enter a state of suspended growth to survive dry spells. A study shows that state protects them from aging, and hints at how.
- Life
A new lizard parasite is the first known to move from mom to baby
Nematodes were found living in a lizard’s ovaries and the braincase of her embryos — the first evidence of a reptile parasite that jumps generations.
- Animals
One blind, aquatic salamander may have sat mostly still for seven years
Olms may live for about century and appear to spend their time moving sparingly.
- Neuroscience
Living brain tissue experiments raise new kinds of ethical questions
An ethicist describes the quandaries raised by working with tissue involved in human awareness.
