Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Ecosystems
Long-ignored, high-flying arthropods could make up largest land migrations
Forget birds. 3.5 trillion insects, spiders and mites a year fly over the southern United Kingdom.
- Life
Ancient enzymes adapted to a cooler Earth to keep life’s chemical reactions going
Ancient enzymes kept their speed at lower temperatures.
- Neuroscience
How scientists are hunting for a safer opioid painkiller
Scientists are sorting through chemical structures, twisting and turning known drugs and exploring new ways to ease pain.
- Animals
Tales of creatures large and small made news this year
Scientists filled in the details of some famous evolutionary tales in 2016 — and discovered a few surprises about creatures large and small.
- Life
Force-detecting protein senses when lungs fill with air
A study in mice pinpoints a force-detecting protein that regulates breathing, previously implicated in touch.
- Health & Medicine
Motherhood might actually improve memory
Having a baby changes all sorts of things, including a mother’s brain.
- Animals
For some salamanders, finding a mate is a marathon
Small-mouthed salamanders will travel close to nine kilometers on average to mate, a new study finds.
- Earth
‘Waterworld’ Earth preceded late rise of continents, scientist proposes
Cooling mantle temperatures may have lifted Earth’s continents above sea level, helping spur the Cambrian explosion.
- Neuroscience
Pregnancy linked to long-term changes in mom’s brain
Pregnancy can sculpt a mother’s brain in a way that may help her tune in to her baby.
- Tech
Cells snack on nanowires
Human cells eat silicon nanowires in a process called phagocytosis. Nanowire-infused cells could be a step towards biological electronic devices.
- Animals
Chimps look at behinds the way we look at faces
Humans demonstrate something called the inversion effect when gazing at faces. Chimpanzees do this too — when looking at other chimps’ butts.
- Genetics
50 years ago, alcohol use was linked to several gene variants
50 years later, scientists are still searching for genes that influence drinking.
