Life

  1. Neuroscience

    The brain’s blueprint for aging is set early in life

    The brain's decline may mirror its beginning, offering clues to aging.

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  2. Animals

    Organisms age in myriad ways — and some might not even bother

    There is great variety in how animals and plants deteriorate (or don’t) over time.

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  3. Animals

    Readers mesmerized by ‘Strange visions’

    Animal vision, ice-making microbes, brain maps and more reader feedback.

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  4. Animals

    What animals’ life spans can tell us about how people age

    The animal world can offer insights into human longevity.

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  5. Animals

    When bird populations shrink, females fly away

    In small and shrinking populations of willow warblers, males outnumber females. That’s because girls choose to join bigger groups, a new study finds.

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  6. Animals

    How snails breathe through snorkels on land

    Shells with a tube counterintuitively sealed at the end have hidden ways to let Asian snails snorkel while sealed in their shells.

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  7. Animals

    How snails breathe through snorkels on land

    Shells with a tube counterintuitively sealed at the end have hidden ways to let Asian snails snorkel while sealed in their shells.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Post-stroke shifts in gut bacteria could cause additional brain injury

    The gut’s microbial population influences how mice fare after a stroke, suggesting that poop pills might one day prove therapeutic following brain injury.

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  9. Animals

    Beetles that battle make better moms than ones that never fight

    Female burying beetles that have to fight before reproducing spend more time caring for offspring than beetles with no fighting experience, a new study finds.

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  10. Life

    When mouth microbes pal up, infection ensues

    A common and usually harmless species of mouth bacteria can help harmful bacteria become more powerful by providing oxygen.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    ‘Cracking the Aging Code’ tackles aging from evolutionary perspective

    In 'Cracking the Aging Code', theoretical biologist Josh Mitteldorf and writer Dorion Sagan take a different approach to the science of growing old.

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  12. Animals

    Documentary looks for meaning in Koko the gorilla’s life

    'Koko — The Gorilla Who Talks' documents the nearly 45-year relationship between researcher Penny Patterson and Koko, the subject of an ape sign language project.

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