Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Prospective Crohn’s drug yields high rate of remission
An experimental Crohn’s disease drug triggers a high remission rate in patients.
- Genetics
History of the United Kingdom revealed in its genes
A genetics study finds subtle differences that reveal secrets about the history and ancestry of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Humans
History of the United Kingdom revealed in its genes
A genetics study finds subtle differences that reveal secrets about the history and ancestry of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Animals
How velvet worms slime their prey
Researchers have figured out the mechanics behind velvet worms’ wobbly slime jets.
- Ecosystems
Even fast-breeding rabbits can’t withstand Everglades python invasion
Even marsh rabbits in the Everglades can’t breed fast enough to keep their population going when Burmese pythons warm up for summer hunting.
- Animals
Mudskippers use watery tongue to slurp up snacks on land
When mudskippers move from water to land, they use a tongue made of water to move food to the back of their throat and into their stomachs.
- Animals
Evidence of ‘yeti’ probably came from a Himalayan black bear
Last year, a genetic analysis revealed two hairs from an unknown species of bear in Asia. A new study finds that they belong to rare Himalayan black bears.
- Life
Finches can pass H7N9 bird flu to chickens
In laboratory experiments, society finches spread H7N9 into water when they drank, infecting chickens and quail that drank the same water.
- Genetics
The upside of a demolished chromosome
A woman’s rare genetic disease was cured when a chromosome carrying the mutant gene shattered.
- Animals
Snail shell creates blue iridescence with mineral
Mollusk shines blue using calcium compound rather than organic molecule.
- Life
Cyborg beetles reveal secrets of insect flight
Remote controlled beetles swoop to the rescue in insect flight simulations.
- Paleontology
Rise of East African Plateau dated by whale fossil
A whale fossil is helping to pinpoint when the East African Plateau started to rise and how the uplift played a role in human evolution, scientists say.
