Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Pacific islanders got a double whammy of Stone Age DNA
Neandertal and Denisovan genes influence the health of present-day Melanesians.
- Life
How Paralympic sprinters lose speed on curves
Amputee runners may lose more speed on curves when the leg on the inside of the curve is the one bearing a prosthetic, a biomechanics study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Efforts to control mosquitoes take on new urgency
The major mosquito that is spreading Zika virus has quirks that make it one of the toughest to fight.
- Neuroscience
Lost memories retrieved for mice with signs of Alzheimer’s
Using light, scientists coaxed a forgotten memory from the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms.
- Paleontology
True nature of ‘Tully monster’ revealed
The identity of a 300-million-year-old enigmatic creature known as the “Tully monster” is a mystery no longer.
- Animals
Plain ol’ Texas rat snakes basically match vipers for speed
Rattlesnakes and other vipers are not the fastest fangs in the West.
- Ecosystems
Australian fairy circles first to be found outside Africa
Strange patterns of grassland bald spots called fairy circles show up in Western Australia.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
