Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Seeing humans as superpredators
People have become a unique predator, hunting mostly adults of other species.
- Plants
What fairy circles teach us about science
Science can’t yet tell us how fairy circles form, but that’s not a failure for science.
- Genetics
Gene thought to cause obesity works indirectly
Researchers have discovered a “genetic switch” that determines whether people will burn extra calories or save them as fat.
- Life
Experimental MERS vaccine shows promise
An experimental vaccine against the MERS virus triggers immune protection, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Stiff cellular environment links obesity to breast cancer
Obesity may directly support tumor growth by making a cell’s surroundings stiffer.
- Health & Medicine
‘Vomiting device’ sounds gross but it helps study infections
Scientists created a “vomiting device” to study how norovirus spreads through the air.
- Animals
Hummingbird tongues may work like micropumps
Hummingbird tongues work as elastic micropumps instead of simple thin tubes, researchers say in latest round of a scientific debate.
- Animals
Another tiny frog species found in sky islands of Brazil
Another new species of miniature frog has been discovered amongst the leaf litter in the high cloud forests of southern Brazil.
- Microbes
Bacteria in flowers may boost honeybees’ healthy gut microbes
Honeybees may deliver doses of probiotics to the hive to help feed baby bees’ microbiome.
- Chemistry
Three kids’ science books offer fun, fascinating experiments
No matter what interests kids, there’s a do-it-yourself science book for them. Here are three with entertaining and educational options.
- Chemistry
Pathway pieced together to make opiates in yeast
Scientists have engineered yeast to make sugar into thebaine, a precursor to opiates such as morphine.
- Psychology
Baby marmosets imitate parents’ sounds
Vocal learning may work similarly in marmoset monkeys, songbirds and humans.
