Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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AnimalsThe moon drives the migration of Arctic zooplankton
In the darkness of the Arctic winter, the moon replaces the sun as the driver of zooplankton migration, a new study finds.
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AnimalsThe mites living on your face probably run in your family
Demodex folliculorum mites, which live on human skin, have probably evolved with their hosts over time.
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Cosmology‘Origins’ offers science-based account of creation
In Origins, a science writer compiles an ambitious yet concise history of the universe and life on Earth.
By Sid Perkins -
LifeBody’s bacteria don’t outnumber human cells so much after all
New calculations show human cells about equal bacteria in the body.
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AnimalsSmall lizard packs powerful tongue
A tiny chameleon from South Africa sets an acceleration and power record for amniotes.
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AnimalsLittlest chameleons pack powerful tongues
A tiny chameleon from South Africa sets an acceleration and power record for amniotes.
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GeneticsThe Iceman tells a new tale: Infection with ulcer-causing bacteria
Ötzi the Iceman was infected with a virulent strain of H. pylori. A new study is the first to piece together an ancient genome of these bacteria.
By Meghan Rosen -
OceansPhytoplankton flunk photosynthesis efficiency test
Nutrient-poor ocean waters make phytoplankton photosynthesis inefficient
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PaleontologySaber-toothed salmon teeth more like tusks than fangs
Saber-toothed salmon teeth may not have been positioned like fangs at all.
By Susan Milius -
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AnimalsAnimals get struck by lightning, too
Scientists found a group of sea lions apparently dead from a lightning strike. But those animals certainly aren’t the first animals to die that way.