Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Meet the speedsters of the plant world
Researchers have recently uncovered a diverse array of mechanisms that allow plants to move — often faster than the blink of an eye.
- Science & Society
We’ve got the genes for science journalism
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses how genetic testing might not be reliable enough for people to plan for the future.
- Animals
Readers amazed by Jupiter discoveries, giant viruses and more
Readers had questions about the latest findings of Jupiter, giant viruses being recognized as a new kingdom of life and tardigrade poop.
- Paleontology
Here’s how hefty dinosaurs sat on their eggs without crushing them
Some heavier dinos had a strategy to keep eggs warm without crushing them: sit in an opening in the middle of the clutch instead of on top of them.
- Animals
How a deep-sea geology trip led researchers to a doomed octopus nursery
A healthy population of cephalopods could be hiding nearby, though, a new study contends.
- Animals
With a little convincing, rats can detect tuberculosis
TB-sniffing rats prove more accurate in detecting infection, especially in children, than the most commonly used diagnostic tool.
- Neuroscience
RNA injected from one sea slug into another may transfer memories
Long-term memories might be encoded in RNA, a controversial study in sea slugs suggests.
- Animals
These caterpillars march. They fluff. They scare London.
Oak processionary moths have invaded England and threatened the pleasure of spring breezes.
- Animals
A deadly frog-killing fungus probably originated in East Asia
The disastrous form of Bd chytrid fungus could have popped up just 50 to 120 years ago.
- Life
There’s a genetic explanation for why warmer nests turn turtles female
Scientists have found a temperature-responsive gene that controls young turtles’ sex fate.
- Artificial Intelligence
This AI uses the same kind of brain wiring as mammals to navigate
This AI creates mental maps of its environment much like mammals do.
- Animals
Here’s how to use DNA to find elusive sharks
Hard-to-find sharks that divers and cameras miss appear in genetic traces in the ocean.
