Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Dealing with droughts, museums going digital and more reader feedback
Readers share their experiences with dry weather in the U.S., discuss how humans mentally sort quantities and more.
- Life
It’s true: Butterfly spots can mimic scary eyes
Contrary to recent studies, the old notion that butterfly wing eyespots evoke predator eyes may not be so old-fashioned after all.
- Genetics
Anti-inflammation genes linked to longer lives
Inflammation-dampening genes fight oxidants and promote longer life spans.
- Health & Medicine
Mutation regions mapped on genes that cause breast and ovarian cancer
An analysis of mutated BRCA genes could someday be used for personalized medicine in the fight against breast and ovarian cancer.
- Paleontology
Brontosaurus deserves its name, after all
Brontosaurus belongs in a genus separate from Apatosaurus, a new study proposes.
- Neuroscience
Brains may be wired to count calories, make healthy choices
Fruit flies appear to make memories of the calories in the food they eat, an observation that may have implications for weight control in humans.
- Animals
Distinct voices fill the fish soundscape at night
Researchers find that fish sound frequencies overlap more during the day and are more distinct at night.
- Animals
Mouse mates with similar personalities start families faster
Among monogamous mound-building mice, the more closely mates match in a tendency toward anxiety, the sooner they start having babies
- Animals
Eggs and other land foods won’t feed polar bears
Polar bears will not be able to survive on land by eating birds, eggs and vegetation, a new review concludes.
- Animals
‘Domesticated’ explores how humans have altered animals
Science journalist Richard Francis delves into the genetic changes humans have caused in dogs, cats, pigs, horses, camels and more.
- Animals
‘The Last Unicorn’ takes readers on quest to see a saola
Nature writer William deBuys introduces readers to the enigmatic saola of Southeast Asia.
- Oceans
UV light reveals hidden patterns on seashell fossils
Under UV light, fossil seashell color patterns glow, a researcher finds.
