Life
- Neuroscience
Rocking puts adults to sleep faster and makes slumber deeper
People sleep better when their beds are gently rocked, a small study finds.
- Paleontology
Tiny eyes make a bizarre, ancient platypus-like reptile even weirder
An ancient oddball marine reptile had teeny-tiny eyes, suggesting it probably used senses other than sight to catch food.
- Animals
Young emperor penguins brave icy, winter waters in their first year
Young emperor penguins learn survival skills on their own, including how to navigate Antarctica’s icy winter ocean.
- Genetics
A CRISPR gene drive for mice is one step closer to reality
Researchers have made progress toward creating a gene drive for mice in the lab. Such genetic cut-and-paste machines have yet to be made for mammals.
- Neuroscience
The cerebellum may do a lot more than just coordinate movement
A study in mice finds that the cerebellum helps control social behavior, a result that has implications for autism and schizophrenia.
- Animals
Cryptic remains of tiny animals have turned up in an Antarctic lake
Researchers were surprised to find vestiges of what appear to be tiny animals in mud from Antarctica’s ice-covered Lake Mercer.
- Animals
This honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker
Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.
- Neuroscience
New ways to image and control nerve cells could unlock brain mysteries
Methods that target single nerve cells in mice and fruit fly brains are starting to tease apart the brain’s complexity.
- Animals
This rediscovered Bolivian frog species survived deadly chytrid fungus
Scientists recently rediscovered a frog species in Bolivia that hasn’t been seen in 10 years — and it could be used to better understand a frog-killing fungus.
- Animals
Bacterial compounds may be as good as DEET at repelling mosquitoes
A bacterium’s metabolic by-products are as effective as DEET in deterring Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
- Paleontology
A four-legged robot hints at how ancient tetrapods walked
Using fossils, computer simulations and a life-size walking robot, researchers re-created how an early tetrapod may have made tracks.
- Animals
How worm blobs behave like a liquid and a solid
Blobs of worms flow like a fluid, plop like a solid and fascinate scientists.
