Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Seeds coated in a common pesticide might affect birds’ migration
Eating small amounts of a neonicotinoid pesticide can disorient white-crowned sparrows.
- Plants
The dietary habits of the emerald ash borer beetle are complicated
Tests answer some questions about the emerald ash borer’s hidden taste for olive and fringe trees.
- Animals
Even a tiny oil spill spells bad news for birds
Just a small amount of crude can make birds less active.
- Animals
The key to breaking down plastic may be in caterpillars’ guts
Caterpillars that feast on plastic have different gut microbes than those that eat a grain-based diet.
- Animals
Fluorescence could help diagnose sick corals
Diseased corals fluoresce less than healthy corals, and a new analysis technique can help spot the reduced glow.
- Genetics
Current CRISPR gene drives are too strong for outdoor use, studies warn
Self-limiting genetic tools already in development may be able to get around concerns surrounding the use of gene drives.
- Tech
50 years ago, artificial limbs weren’t nearly as responsive
Artificial limbs have come a long way since 1967.
- Neuroscience
Study casts doubt on whether adult brain’s memory-forming region makes new cells
An examination of 54 human brains suggests that adults don’t grow new neurons in the hippocampus, contrary to several widely accepted studies.
- Health & Medicine
How dad’s stress changes his sperm
Stress may change sperm via packets of RNA in the epididymis, a mouse study suggests.
- Neuroscience
The brain’s helper cells have a hand in learning fear
After a traumatic experience, rat brains release inflammatory signals that come from astrocytes, suggesting a new role for the brain’s “helper” cells.
- Archaeology
How Asian nomadic herders built new Bronze Age cultures
Ancient steppe herders traveled into Europe and Asia, leaving their molecular mark and building Bronze Age cultures.
- Animals
Coconut crabs are a bird’s worst nightmare
A biologist witnesses a coconut crab taking out a blue-footed booby and documents the balance of the animals in an Indian Ocean archipelago.
