Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
A protein variant can provide protection from deadly brain-wasting
If cannibalism hadn’t stopped, a protective protein may have ended kuru anyway.
- Animals
Newly discovered tiny frogs live on islands in the sky
Scientists find seven new species of frogs in southern Brazil, and more could be waiting, they say.
- Archaeology
Bronze Age humans racked up travel miles
A new study indicates long journeys and unexpected genetic links in Bronze Age Eurasian cultures.
- Animals
Chimps get buzzed on fermented tree sap
Scientists have documented the first case of chimpanzees drinking ethanol in the wild.
- Paleontology
New analysis cuts massive dino’s weight in half
Gigantic dinosaur Dreadnoughtus may have weighed only about half of what scientists estimated last year.
- Paleontology
Traces of dino blood, soft tissue found even in junk bones
Hints of blood and collagen found in poorly preserved dinosaur bones suggest that soft tissue from the creatures may be easier to come by.
- Animals
Camera traps provide treasure trove of African animal pics
Scientists set up hundreds of cameras across Serengeti National Park to capture images of predators and their prey.
- Life
MERS virus didn’t morph in its move to South Korea
No obvious changes in the MERS virus account for its rapid spread in South Korea.
- Life
Tracing molecules’ movement in nails may help fight fungus
Tracking chemicals through the human nail may provide valuable insight for drug development.
- Paleontology
Horned dino aside, here are some other fun fossil finds
Here's a roundup of some fossil finds reported this week.
- Animals
‘Virgin births’ won’t save endangered sawfish
Sawfish are the first wild vertebrates found to reproduce via parthenogenesis.
- Neuroscience
Female’s nose blocks scent of a male
When a female mouse is in an infertile stage of her reproductive cycle, her nose cells don’t alert her brain to the presence of a potential mate.
