Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Ecosystems
Lessons for the new year
SN Editor in Chief, Eva Emerson, reflects on looking to nature for insights on how to constructively look ahead - even if just a year -drawing from a handful of this issues natural science stories for her 2015 resolutions.
- Neuroscience
Cold War collaboration probed possible viral cause of ALS
A mid-1960s collaboration between American and Soviet researchers explored a possible viral cause of ALS.
- Life
Insect-eating bats implicated as Ebola outbreak source
Insect-eating bats, not fruit bats, may have started the Ebola epidemic.
- Ecosystems
Dam demolition lets the Elwha River run free
Removing a dam involves more than impressive explosions. Releasing a river like Washington state's Elwha transforms the landscape and restores important pathways for native fish.
- Life
Contamination blamed in STAP stem cell debacle
Stem cells supposedly made in acid baths were really embryonic stem cells, investigation finds.
- Ecosystems
Cities are brimming with wildlife worth studying
Urban ecologists are getting a handle on the varieties of wildlife — including fungi, ants, bats and coyotes — that share sidewalks, parks and alleyways with a city’s human residents.
- Genetics
The art of DNA folding
Cells must compress genetic material into a nucleus that measures only about 5 micrometers across. To accomplish the feat, cells make loops in the DNA.
- Humans
Precursors of human sperm and eggs made from stem cells
Reprogrammed adult human cells can produce germ cells, precursors of sperm and eggs.
- Animals
Bees, up close and personal
A photo archive from the U.S. Geological Survey's Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab offers detailed photos of bee species.
- Animals
China’s reindeer are on the decline
A small, semi-domesticated population of reindeer found in northern China is suffering due to threats ranging from inbreeding to tourism.
- Animals
Rock ants favor left turns in unfamiliar crevices
Rock ants’ bias for turning left in mazes, a bit like handedness in people, may reflect different specializations in the halves of their nervous system.
- Life
Hydrogen sulfide offers clue to how reducing calories lengthens lives
Cutting calories boosts hydrogen sulfide production, which leads to more resilient cells and longer lives, a new study suggests.
