Life

  1. Ecosystems

    Australian fairy circles first to be found outside Africa

    Strange patterns of grassland bald spots called fairy circles show up in Western Australia.

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  2. Animals

    Snake fungal disease spreading in eastern United States

    A decade after snake fungal disease was first discovered, it has now been found in its 16th U.S. state.

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  3. Paleontology

    New tyrannosaur bridges gap from medium to monstrous

    Horse-sized Timurlengia euotica had a brain and ears like its bigger relative Tyrannosaurus rex, which lived millions of years later.

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  4. Anthropology

    Ancient DNA reveals who is in Spain’s ‘pit of bones’ cave

    Ancient DNA shows Neandertals lived in northern Spain 430,000 years ago; the early date raises new questions about Neandertals’ origins.

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  5. Ecosystems

    FDA predicts no significant environmental impact from GM mosquitoes

    The FDA has taken a step in the process of deciding whether to allow the first test release in the United States of genetically modified mosquitoes to fight diseases such as Zika.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Here’s how dust mites give dermatitis sufferers the itch

    Dust mites can make people with eczema truly miserable. Now, scientists have figured out why they make some people scratch, and resolved a dermatological debate.

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  7. Animals

    Tiny hummingbirds can fly a long, long way

    Some ruby-throated hummingbirds may be capable of flying more than 2,000 kilometers without stopping, scientists calculate.

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  8. Plants

    How to keep seagrasses as happy as a clam

    Drought can do more damage to seagrass meadows if their partnership with clams break down.

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  9. Animals

    Great tits sing with syntax

    Humans are no longer the only species to use compositional syntax. Great tits do, too.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Readers respond to stress, tattoos, and the universe

    Stress, tattoos, cosmic origins and more reader feedback.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Cells from fat mend bone, cartilage, muscle and even the heart

    Stem cells and other components of fat can be coerced to grow into bone, cartilage, muscle or to repair the heart.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Molecules found to counter antibiotic resistance

    Molecules made in a lab can foil antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

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