Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
Museum fossil links snakes to lizards
Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of the first four-legged snake. The fossil bridges the gap between snakes and lizards.
- Life
Cells from grandma help keep fetus safe
Grandmother’s cells may watch over grandchildren in the womb.
- Animals
Boas kill by cutting off blood flow, not airflow
Boas actually kill by constricting blood flow of their prey, not suffocating them, as scientists previously suspected.
- Neuroscience
Boosting estrogen, only in the brain
Scientists have developed a chemical that transforms into the hormone estrogen in the brain, but not the body, of rats.
- Animals
Sea level rise threatens sea turtles
Sea level rise is causing coastal areas to be inundated with water. Even short periods of being wet can kill sea turtle eggs, a new study finds.
- Science & Society
Microbes may be a forensic tool for time of death
By using an ecological lens to examine dead bodies, scientists are bridging the gap between forensic science and the ecological concept of succession.
- 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.
