Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
This new fish species displays a splash of highlighter hues
Researchers stumbled upon a new species of coral reef fish with spectacular coloration and a unique habitat.
- Neuroscience
A paralyzed man makes great strides with spinal stimulation and rehab
Researchers find success at restoring movement to paralyzed legs, giving hope to people with paraplegia.
- Genetics
In lab tests, this gene drive wiped out a population of mosquitoes
For the first time, a gene drive caused a population crash of mosquitoes in a small-scale test.
- Animals
How math helps explain the delicate patterns of dragonfly wings
Scientists have found a mathematical explanation for the complex patterns on the wings of dragonflies and other insects.
- Anthropology
The way hunter-gatherers share food shows how cooperation evolved
Camp customs override selfishness and generosity when foragers divvy up food, a study of East Africa’s Hazda hunter-gatherers shows.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, a flu pandemic spurred vaccine research
A half-century after the Hong Kong flu pandemic, scientists are getting closer to a universal vaccine.
- Health & Medicine
Kidney stones grow and dissolve much like geological crystals
Kidney stones are dynamic entities that grow and dissolve, a new study finds, which contradicts the prevailing medical assumption.
- Paleontology
Cholesterol traces suggest these mysterious fossils were animals, not fungi
Traces of cholesterol still clinging to a group of enigmatic Ediacaran fossils suggests the weird critters were animals, not fungi or lichen.
- Life
Humans have skeletal stem cells that help bones and cartilage grow
Human skeletal stem cells have been found for the first time.
- Life
DNA from seized elephant ivory unmasks 3 big trafficking cartels in Africa
Scientists can sleuth out wildlife crime and aid law enforcement by tracing elephant DNA from ivory seizures back to the source.
- Neuroscience
Over-the-hill cells may cause trouble in the aging brain
Killing dormant cells in the brains of mice staved off memory trouble.
- Plants
Smart plants can teach us a thing or two
‘The Revolutionary Genius of Plants’ challenges the brain-centered view of intelligence.
