Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Some frogs may be bouncing back after killer chytrid fungus
Frogs in Panama may be developing defenses against a fatal skin disease, a new study suggests.
- Life
Why cracking your knuckles can be so noisy
Knuckles crack due to the partial collapse of bubbles in joint fluid, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Opioids kill. Here’s how an overdose shuts down your body
Powerful opioids affect many parts of the body, but the drugs’ most deadly effects are on breathing.
- Materials Science
Live heart cells make this material shift color like a chameleon
A new material made of heart cells from rats and hydrogel changes color as the living cells contract and relax.
- Neuroscience
Brain waves of concertgoers sync up at shows
During a live musical performance, audience members’ brain waves get in sync.
- Neuroscience
Parents’ presence promotes a child’s pluck
Parents’ presence or absence during a learning exercise determines whether their child is fearful later, or willing to explore.
- Life
‘Nanobot’ viruses tag and round up bacteria in food and water
Viruses called phages evolved to hunt bacteria. With magnetic nanoparticles and genetic engineering, they become nanobots that work for us.
- Neuroscience
When tickling the brain to stimulate memory, location matters
Conflicting results regarding the benefits of brain stimulation may be explained by the precise location of electrodes.
- Animals
Humpback whale bumps have marine biologists stumped
Christine Gabriele is taking tissue samples from humpback whales in Hawaii to determine why more and more have nodular dermatitis.
- Ecosystems
50 years ago, invasive species traveled the Suez Canal
Hundreds of Red Sea species used the Suez Canal to migrate to the Mediterranean Sea, leading to the decline of some native species.
- Genetics
Atacama mummy’s deformities were unduly sensationalized
A malformed human mummy known as Ata has been sensationalized as alien. A DNA analysis helps overturn that misconception.
- Environment
How bees defend against some controversial insecticides
Some bees have enzymes that allow them to resist toxic compounds in some neonicotinoid pesticides.
