Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Science & Society
In ‘Get the Picture,’ science helps explore the meaning of art
Journalist Bianca Bosker infiltrates the secretive art world to understand the science and psychology of why art matters to the human experience.
- Animals
This newfound longhorn beetle species is unusually fluffy
Discovered in Australia, the beetle is covered in whitish hairs and has distinctive eye lobes, antennae and leg shapes.
- Animals
50 years ago, scientists wondered how birds find their way home
In the 1970s, lab tests hinted that birds can navigate using magnetic fields. New studies suggest that beak and eye proteins are behind the ability.
- Math
Scientists find a naturally occurring molecule that forms a fractal
The protein assembles itself into a repeating triangle pattern. The fractal seems to be an accident of evolution, scientists say.
