Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Climate
Warming ocean water is turning 99 percent of these sea turtles female
Green sea turtle populations in part of the Great Barrier Reef are becoming increasingly female due to higher ocean temperatures.
- Microbes
New pill tracks gases through your gut
Swallowing these pill-sized sensors could give new insight into what’s going on in your gut.
- Animals
Blowflies use drool to keep their cool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then reswallow.
- Life
A key virus fighter is implicated in pregnancy woes
In mice, activating a key component of the body’s antiviral machinery in response to a Zika infection can cause harm to developing fetuses.
- Anthropology
‘Laid-back’ bonobos take a shine to belligerents
Unlike people, these apes gravitate toward those who are unhelpful.
- Oceans
Corals are severely bleaching five times as often as in 1980
Corals are now bleaching more frequently and severely than they were in the early 1980s.
- Microbes
These disease-fighting bacteria produce echoes detectable by ultrasound
Ultrasound can help keep tabs on genetically modified bacteria to better fight disease inside the body.
- Animals
Robot fish shows how the deepest vertebrate in the sea takes the pressure
Tests with a robot snailfish reveal why the deep-sea fish has mysterious goo in its body.
- Neuroscience
Jazz improvisers score high on creativity
Jazz musicians’ creativity linked to brain dexterity.
- Science & Society
Watch our most-viewed videos of 2017
Cassini’s demise, cuttlefish and the Curiosity rover topped our list of most popular videos of 2017.
- Genetics
50 years ago, synthetic DNA made its debut
Synthetic DNA has come a long way since it arrived on the scene half a century ago.
- Animals
2017 delivered amazing biology finds from organisms large and small
From giant African elephants to tiny tardigrades, scientists discovered some surprising biology this year.
