Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Environment
A new approach to fighting wildfires combines local knowledge and AI
Land managers in the western United States are using potential operational delineations, or PODS, to prepare for — and take advantage of — wildfires.
- Animals
Ximena Velez-Liendo is saving Andean bears with honey
By training beekeepers, biologist Ximena Velez-Liendo is helping rural agricultural communities of southern Bolivia coexist with Andean bears.
- Health & Medicine
Traces of bird flu are showing up in cow milk. Here’s what to know
We asked the experts: Should people be worried? Pasteurization and the H5N1 virus’s route to infection suggests risks to people remains low.
- Ecosystems
Noise pollution can harm birds even before they hatch
Exposing zebra finch eggs and hatchlings to traffic sounds had lifelong health impacts, raising concerns about increased anthropogenic noise.
- Neuroscience
Rat cells grew in mice brains, and helped sniff out cookies
When implanted into mouse embryos, stem cells from rats grew into forebrains and structures that handle smells.
- Life
A vaccine for bees has an unexpected effect
Honeybees vaccinated against a bacterial disease were also protected from a viral disease.
- Animals
Glowing octocorals have been around for at least 540 million years
Genetic and fossil analyses shine a light on how long the invertebrates have had bioluminescence — a trait thought to be volatile.
- Plants
Plant ‘time bombs’ highlight how sneaky invasive species can be
Sycamore maples and some other plant invaders lurked for centuries before starting to choke out native ecosystems and species.
- Ecosystems
A new road map shows how to prevent pandemics
Past viral spillover events underscore the importance of protecting wildlife habitats.
- Neuroscience
These windpipe cells trigger coughs to keep water out of the lungs
Neuroendocrine cells can sense substances on the way to the lungs and prompt reactions such as coughing and swallowing, experiments in mice show.
- Neuroscience
Tiny treadmills show how fruit flies walk
A method to force fruit flies to move shows the insects’ stepping behavior and holds clues to other animals’ brains and movement.
- Animals
Hibernating bumblebee queens have a superpower: Surviving for days underwater
After some bumblebee queens were accidentally submerged in water and survived, researchers found them to be surprisingly tolerant of flooding.
