Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Neuroscience

    Busy brain hubs go awry in disorders, study suggests

    Schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders may occur when the brain’s most active hubs are damaged.

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  2. Life

    HIV hides in growth-promoting genes

    The discovery that HIV can trigger infected cells to divide means scientists may need to rethink strategies for treating the virus that causes AIDS.

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  3. Physics

    Tiny silica spheres put the disco in disco clams

    The electric effect in disco clams is actually the result of light scattering off tiny silica spheres.

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  4. Animals

    Lionfish dance can recruit partner for hunting

    Slow but superb predators recruit pals for cooperative hunting, often striking in what looks like well-mannered turn taking.

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  5. Life

    Life began when algorithms took control

    Digital storage of molecular information is the key to defining life and understanding its origin, astrobiologists say.

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  6. Microbes

    The most personal data on your phone is your microbiome

    Phones carry more than your contacts and messages. They’ve got your microbiome too.

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  7. Animals

    Tiny frogs host an illusion on their backs

    How dyeing dart frogs move changes how predators see the amphibians, a new study finds.

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  8. Neuroscience

    The simplest form of learning is really quite complex

    Habituation, the ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli, is the simplest form of learning but may require a whole neural network.

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  9. Life

    Bacteria’s tail spins make water droplets swirl

    When bacteria band together, they can turn a fairly tame drop of water into a swirling vortex.

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  10. Animals

    Fish-eating spiders are the stuff of nightmares

    Spiders that feast on fish can be found on every continent but Antarctica, a new review finds.

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  11. Animals

    Passenger pigeon population had booms and busts

    DNA says the birds recovered from hard times — until people came along.

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  12. Life

    Autoimmune diseases stopped in mice

    Reprogramming immune cells may offer a way to treat autoimmune diseases without harming the body’s ability to fight infections.

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