Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
These crocodile-like beasts reached the Caribbean, outlasting mainland kin
Knife-toothed reptiles called sebecids went extinct on the mainland 10 million years ago. New fossil evidence puts them on an island 4 million years ago.
- Oceans
How will the LA fires affect the ocean? These researchers are racing to find out
Scientists aboard a research vessel near Los Angeles collected ash, air and water samples as fire blazed on the hills before them in January.
- Health & Medicine
Bird flu in cows shows no signs of adapting to humans — yet
Easy replication in cattle mammary glands means H5N1 bird flu is under no evolutionary pressure to adapt to spread easily in humans.
- Paleontology
Ancient, water-loving rhinos gathered in big, hippolike herds
Squat rhinos lived in North America about 12 million years ago, congregating in huge, water-bound herds much like modern hippos.
- Animals
This caterpillar wears the body parts of insect prey
Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat.
- Neuroscience
Mouse brains hint at why it’s so hard to forget food poisoning
Scientists mapped a neural circuit that associates an unfamiliar flavor with food poisoning symptoms in mice.
- Animals
How science can help you train your puppy
Puppies with a good grasp of basic gestures, self-confidence and impulse control grow into well-behaved adults, a new study suggests.
- Neuroscience
Early Parkinson’s trials revive stem cells as a possible treatment
The phase I clinical trials showed stem cell transplants for Parkinson’s disease appear to be safe and might restore dopamine-producing brain cells.
- Paleontology
Could Spinosaurus swim? The fierce dinosaur ignites debate
Researchers are still divided about whether Spinosaurus was a swimmer or a wader. What’s clear is that confirming the first swimming dinosaur would be a game-changer.
- Animals
Bats wearing tiny mics reveal how the fliers avoid rush hour collisions
As thousands of bats launch nightly hunting, the cacophony of a dense crowd should stymie echolocation, a so-called “cocktail party nightmare.”
- Animals
Snakes are often the villains. A new book gives them a fair shake
From demon to danger noodle, human ideas about snakes can be as contradictory as the creatures themselves. In Slither, Stephen S. Hall challenges our serpent stereotypes.
- Paleontology
Scotland’s Isle of Skye was once a dinosaur promenade
New dinosaur fossil tracks on the Isle of Skye reveal that the once-balmy environment was home to both fierce theropods and massive sauropods.
