Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Spider webs don’t rot easily and scientists may have figured out why
Spider silk doesn’t rot quickly because bacteria can’t access its nitrogen, a nutrient needed for the microbes’ growth, scientists say.
- Life
Saharan silver ants are the world’s fastest despite relatively short legs
Saharan silver ants can hit speeds of 108 times their body length per second.
- Humans
Humans’ maternal ancestors may have arisen 200,000 years ago in southern Africa
New DNA findings on humankind’s maternal roots don’t offer a complete picture of how and when Homo sapiens emerged.
- Life
Bird eggs laid in cold climates are darker, which may keep eggs warm
A global survey of bird egg color reveals a simple trend: the colder the climate, the darker the egg.
- Animals
Congolese giant toads may mimic venomous snakes to trick predators
If Congolese giant toads mimic venomous Gaboon vipers, it would be the first reported case of a toad imitating a snake.
- Life
Remarkable fossils capture mammals’ recovery after the dino-killing asteroid
A fossil-rich site in Colorado is revealing how mammals rebounded and flourished after an asteroid strike 66 million years ago.
- Neuroscience
Lab-grown organoids are more stressed-out than actual brain cells
Compared with real brain tissue, organoids show big differences.
- Life
Piranhas and their plant-eating relatives, pacus, replace rows of teeth all at once
Piranhas and pacus both lose and replace all teeth on one side of their mouths in one go, which may help to distribute wear and tear.
- Health & Medicine
Algae inside blood vessels could act as oxygen factories
Two types of light-responsive algae make oxygen inside tadpoles’ blood vessels.
- Life
Aye-ayes just got weirder with the discovery of a tiny, sixth ‘finger’
Aye-ayes have a sixth “finger,” or pseudothumb, that may compensate for other, overspecialized fingers by helping the lemurs grip things.
- Neuroscience
Light from outside the brain can turn on nerve cells in monkey brains
An extra-sensitive light-responsive molecule allowed nerve cells to be switched on or off with dim light.
- Neuroscience
Alzheimer’s may scramble metabolism’s connection to sleep
Mice designed to have brain changes that mimic Alzheimer’s disease have altered reactions to blood sugar changes.
