Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Tiny mites are probably crawling all over your face
Two skin mites, relatives of spiders, might populate the faces of all adult humans, according to a DNA survey.
By Nsikan Akpan - Life
ZMapp drug fully protects monkeys against Ebola virus
In a test, 18 monkeys injected with the Ebola virus and treated with an experimental drug called ZMapp survived.
By Nathan Seppa - Neuroscience
Pulses to the brain bring memory gains
The ability to associate faces with words is boosted when an outer part of the brain is stimulated, a study shows.
- Animals
Spiders get bigger in the big city
City-living golden orb-weaving spiders tend to be bigger than those that live in the countryside, a new study finds.
- Genetics
Ebola genome clarifies origins of West African outbreak
Genetic analyses suggest that a single infected person sparked the ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Human tests of experimental Ebola vaccine set to start
NIH and NIAID have announced that human tests of an experimental vaccine against Ebola virus will begin in early September.
By Nathan Seppa - Neuroscience
Laser light rewrites memories in mice
Mouse experiment demonstrates that good memories can be transformed into bad ones, and vice versa.
- Tech
To have a sound mind, a brain needs a body
Replicating human intelligence in robots requires the right materials for brain-body-environment interactions.
- Life
Gut bacteria may prevent food allergies
In mice, gut bacteria blocked food from seeping out of the intestines and triggering an immune reaction in the bloodstream.
By Meghan Rosen - Animals
Magpies don’t like shiny things
Magpies’ reputation as thieving birds that will steal shiny objects is all wrong, a new study finds.
- Chemistry
Liquid salts break through armored bacteria on skin
Compounds called ionic liquids can penetrate bacterial biofilms on skin to deliver antibiotics to potentially life-threatening infections.
By Sam Lemonick - Animals
Antarctic midge sports tiniest insect genome
Antarctic midge‘s genetic minimalism achieved by skipping a lot of repetitive stretches.
By Susan Milius