Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Children’s classic ‘Watership Down’ is based on real science
The novel ‘Watership Down’ is the tale of a bunch of anthropomorphized rabbits. Their language may be unreal, but the animals’ behavior was rooted in science.
- Plants
Flowers’ roles considered in ecosystems and economics
In ‘The Reason for Flowers’, a pollination ecologist chronicles the science and culture of blossoms from the dawn of humanity.
- Paleontology
Ancient comb jellies might have had skeletons
Soft and filmy today, comb jellies might once have had rigid skeletons.
- Anthropology
Monkey’s small brain shows surprising folds
An ancient monkey’s tiny brain developed folds, raising questions about primate evolution.
- Life
Women blush when ovulating, and it doesn’t matter a bit
Women don’t signal their fertility in obvious ways like nonhuman primates. A new study shows that even skin flushes are too subtle to detect.
- Animals
Giant pandas live in the slow lane
Giant pandas burn far less energy than similarly sized land mammals.
- Climate
Bumblebee territory shrinking under climate change
Climate change is shrinking bumblebee habitat as southern territories heat up and bumblebees hold their lines in the north.
- Paleontology
How dinos like Triceratops got their horns
A new dino named Wendiceratops pinhornensis gives hints about how Triceratops and other relatives got their horns.
- Genetics
Gene therapy restores hearing in mice
Scientists have used gene therapy to restore hearing in deaf mice.
- Animals
Cuckoos may have a long-lasting impact on other birds
Some birds that don’t have to worry about parasites like cuckoos reject eggs that aren’t their own. It might be a legacy of long-ago parasitism.
- Health & Medicine
New cases of Ebola emerge in Liberia
Liberia has recorded three new Ebola cases after being declared free of the disease in May.
- Life
Age isn’t just a number
Getting old happens faster for some, and the reason may be in the blood.
