Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Songbird crosses the Atlantic in a nonstop flight
Using light-sensing geolocators, researchers confirm an iconic songbird’s impressive transoceanic migration.
- Microbes
Some superbugs lurk in Britain’s surf
In Great Britain’s coastal waters, surfers and swimmers are exposed to low levels of drug-resistant E. coli, a new study finds.
- Humans
Egg-meet-sperm moments are equal opportunities for girls and boys
Despite previous claims, equal numbers of male and female embryos are conceived, new data suggest.
- Environment
Fracking chemicals can alter mouse development
Hormone-disrupting chemicals used in fracking fluid cause developmental changes in mice, new experiments show.
- Science & Society
White House unveils strategy against antibiotic resistance
The Obama Administration has launched a long-term plan to curb antibiotic resistance, unveiling incentives and requirements designed to boost surveillance and diagnosis of resistant microbes.
- Animals
Panda stalking reveals panda hangouts
Scientists used GPS trackers to learn about the giant panda lifestyle.
- Life
Bright bird plumage resulted from natural, sexual selection
Darwin hypothesized that bird color differences resulted from sexual selection. Wallace disagreed. A study shows that both were right after all.
- Neuroscience
Our taste in music may age out of harmony
Age-related hearing loss may be more than just the highest notes. The brain may also lose the ability to tell consonance from dissonance, a new study shows.
- Animals
For bats, simple traffic patterns limit collisions
Humans aren’t the only ones who follow traffic rules. Bats do it too, researchers report.
- Genetics
Ebola virus not mutating as quickly as thought
The virus causing the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is not evolving as quickly as some scientists had suggested.
- Life
No-fishing scheme in Great Barrier Reef succeeds with valuable fishes
Coral trout are thriving in marine protected areas in the Great Barrier Reef, but the no-take zones are having a smaller effect on other reef residents, a new 10-year report card shows.
- Genetics
Iceland lays bare its genomes
A detailed genetic portrait of the Icelandic population is helping scientists to identify the genetic underpinnings of disease.
