Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- 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.
- Animals
Antarctic midge sports tiniest insect genome
Antarctic midge‘s genetic minimalism achieved by skipping a lot of repetitive stretches.
- Animals
Corals, fish know bad reefs by their whiff
Compounds drifting off certain overgrown seaweeds discourage young corals and fish from settling in failing reefs.
- Psychology
Hypothesis on evolution of PMS attracts hostility
A new hypothesis states that PMS is evolutionarily useful for making women leave an infertile partnership. But other scientists question whether the hypothesis is reasonable or, in fact, even necessary.
- Animals
Bumphead parrot fish declare their arrival with a crunch
Months of swimming with the coral-biter bumpheads exposes the animal’s extreme digestion and also a conservation dilemma.
- Life
New gut-dwelling virus is surprisingly common
It’s not clear yet whether the bacteriophage crAssphage, found in people’s intestines, has any health effects.
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- Animals
Seeing past the jellyfish sting
Jellies don’t get nearly as much love as their cousins, the corals, but they deserve credit for providing homes to some creatures, dinner to others and more. They’re an integral part of the oceans.
- Life
Test drug stops Marburg virus in monkeys
Using a nano-size piece of RNA, scientists have stopped Marburg virus in monkeys.
