Life

  1. Neuroscience

    ‘Bath salts’ reduce communication in rat brains

    The recreational drugs known as bath salts cause a loss of communication between areas in the rat brain.

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  2. Life

    Iguanas’ one-way airflow undermines usual view of lung evolution

    Simple-looking structures create sophisticated one-way air flow in iguana lungs, undermining old scenarios of lung evolution.

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  3. Animals

    When sweet little bees go to war

    Tiny Tetragonula bees don’t sting but have strong jaws. The bees fight by biting a combatant and not letting go.

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  4. Neuroscience

    Magnets in helmets might make football safer

    The repulsive force of magnets in football helmets could slow the impact of collisions, reducing concussion danger and making the game safer.

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  5. Environment

    Colorado deluge produced flood of drug-resistance genes

    Flooding in Colorado’s South Platte River Basin washed antibiotics and drug-resistance genes into pristine waterways.

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  6. Archaeology

    Feedback

    Readers ask questions about a study on sweeteners, how scientists recognize primitive tools and the purpose of a dinosaur's sail.

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  7. Environment

    Spiders enlisted as pollution sensors for rivers

    Hunting arachnids provide a better picture of chemical threats to food web.

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  8. Animals

    Ant colonies prefer homes infected with fungus

    Choosing a new nest site ridden with a potentially deadly fungus may be a way for pharaoh ants to immunize themselves against the pathogen, scientists say.

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  9. Life

    Semen seems to counteract microbicides that kill HIV

    Semen seems to inhibit most microbicides from killing HIV, but one that targets a receptor on cells remains effective, suggesting a promising approach against HIV.

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  10. Life

    Study finds lack of evidence for infanticide link to monogamy

    A new study contradicts idea that the rise of infanticide among mammals drove the evolution of monogamy.

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  11. Animals

    Giant otters hum, scream, say ‘hah’ and more

    Often overlooked as vocalists, giant otters make 22 different calls as adults and 11 kinds of baby babble.

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  12. Neuroscience

    Stopped brain clock saves memory in hamsters

    Broken timekeeper in brain may explain some memory problems, hamster study suggests.

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