Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Planetary Science
Readers ponder Opportunity’s future, animal consciousness and more
Readers had questions about NASA’s Opportunity rover, pollen shapes and more.
- Psychology
When anxiety happens as early as preschool, treatments can help
Researchers are seeking ways to break the link between preschool worries and adult anxiety.
- Animals
A scientist used chalk in a box to show that bats use sunsets to migrate
A new device for investigating bat migration suggests that the flying mammals orient themselves by the setting sun.
- Neuroscience
The herbal supplement kratom comes with risks
The supplement kratom can cause heart racing and agitation.
- Genetics
A genetic scorecard could predict your risk of being obese
A genetic score predicts who is at risk of severe obesity, but experts say lifestyle matters more than genes.
- Neuroscience
Dead pig brains bathed in artificial fluid showed signs of cellular life
Four hours after pigs died, the animals’ brain cell activity was restored by a sophisticated artificial system.
- Animals
Parenting chores cut into how much these bird dads fool around
Frantic parenting demands after eggs hatch curtail male black coucals’ philandering excursions the most, a study finds.
- Genetics
Some people may have genes that hamper a drug’s HIV protection
Newly discovered genetic variants could explain why an anti-HIV medication doesn’t protect everyone.
- Genetics
How chemical exposure early in life is ‘like a ticking time bomb’
Some early life experiences can affect health, but only if unmasked by events in adulthood.
- Health & Medicine
NASA’s Twins Study reveals effects of space on Scott Kelly’s health
Ten research groups studying the twin astronauts found long-term spaceflight can alter a person’s physiology and gene activity.
- Health & Medicine
Ketamine cultivates new nerve cell connections in mice
In mice, ketamine prods nerve cells to connect, which may explain the hallucinogenic drug’s ability to ease depression.
- Climate
Climate change made the Arctic greener. Now parts of it are turning brown.
Arctic browning could have far-reaching consequences for people and wildlife, affecting habitat and atmospheric carbon uptake as well as increasing wildfire risk.
