Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
Research teams duel over Native American origins
Genetic link between Australia and the Amazon fuels two interpretations of Native American origins.
- Animals
Eyewitness account of a dolphin birth takes a dark turn
Scientists witnessed the first wild birth of a bottlenose dolphin — and an attempt at infanticide.
- Health & Medicine
Death by brain-eating amoeba is an inside job
Immune response to brain-eating amoeba may be the real killer.
- Neuroscience
Breakdown of Alzheimer’s protein slows with age
It takes longer to get rid of an Alzheimer’s-associated protein with age.
- Health & Medicine
Mosquitoes can get a double dose of malaria
Carrying malaria may make mosquitoes more susceptible to infection with a second strain of the parasite that causes the disease.
- Neuroscience
Bundles of cells hint at biological differences of autistic brains
Using miniature organoids that mimic the human brain, scientists have identified developmental differences between autistic children and their non-autistic family members.
- Neuroscience
How screams shatter the brain
The acoustical properties of screams make them hard to ignore, a new study suggests.
- Animals
Polar bears’ ‘walking hibernation’ not much of an energy saver
Summer’s “walking hibernation” doesn’t shut down polar bears as much as winter does.
- Life
Good luck outsmarting a mosquito
Mosquitoes use their senses in sophisticated combinations and sequences to find you.
- Plants
Defense hormones guide plant roots’ mix of microbes
Plants use salicylic acid to attract some bacteria to roots and repel others.
- Animals
Birds learn what danger sounds like
In just two days, superb fairy-wrens learned to recognize an unfamiliar alarm call as a sign that a predator loomed.
- Neuroscience
How screams shatter the brain
The acoustical properties of screams make them hard to ignore, a new study suggests.
