Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Tug or fetch? Some dogs sort toys by how they are used
Dogs that easily learn the names of toys might also mentally sort them by function, a new example of complex cognitive activity in the canine brain.
- Health & Medicine
Brains don’t all act their age
A slew of new research attempts to zero in on what happens as our brains get older — and what can bring about those changes early.
- Earth
Recycled glass could help fend off coastal erosion
Sand made from recycled glass can be mixed with sediment to make a medium for plants to grow in. That can help with coastal restoration projects.
- Physics
Scientists made a biological quantum bit out of a fluorescent protein
Researchers could use quantum effects to develop new types of medical imaging inside cells themselves.
- Humans
Want to avoid mosquito bites? Step away from the beer
A Dutch music festival turned into a mosquito lab, revealing how beer, weed, sleep and sunscreen affect your bite appeal.
- Animals
Octopus arms are adaptable but some are favored for particular jobs
Octopuses are ambidextrous, a new study finds, but they favor their front arms for investigating surroundings and their back arms for locomotion.
- Paleontology
Crystallized dino eggs provide a peek into the tumultuous Late Cretaceous
Definitively dating the age of a clutch of fossil dinosaur eggs at a famous site in China may let scientists link eggshell features to environmental shifts at the time.
- Health & Medicine
The brain preserves maps of missing hands for years
Countering the idea of large-scale rewiring, women whose hands were removed retained durable brain activity patterns linked to their missing fingers.
- Neuroscience
Your red is my red, at least to our brains
Despite philosophical debates, colors like red may spark similar brain activity across individuals, new research suggests.
- Animals
Just like humans, many animals get more aggressive in the heat
From salamanders to monkeys, many species get more violent at warmer temperatures — a trend that may shape their social structures as the world warms.
- Paleontology
Young pterosaurs probably died in violent Jurassic storms
Two hatchling pterosaurs with fractured arm bones point to ancient storms as the cause of mass casualties preserved in Germany’s Solnhofen Limestone.
- Animals
Tiny thumbnails may be key for rodents’ global takeover
Thumbnails might have boosted rodents’ food-handling skills, helping them thrive worldwide.
