Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Microbes
Gut microbes help packrats eat poison
Antiobiotics and fecal transplants in desert woodrats shown that gut microbes can help plant-eaters metabolize toxins.
- Ecosystems
Offshore wind farms may be seal feeding grounds
Harbor seals were tracked visiting offshore wind farms, probably to find food, researchers say.
- Life
Pregnancy disorder shares aspects with Alzheimer’s
Misfolded proteins, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s and mad cow diseases, are found in urine of women with preeclampsia.
- Neuroscience
Obese women struggle to learn food associations
In a lab experiment, women fail to connect color signal with tasty reward, a deficit that may contribute to obesity.
- Microbes
Front doors carry ‘thin patina’ of poop bacteria
A new map shows that Americans’ front door frames are coated in gut-dwelling microbes.
- Paleontology
Dinos’ long tail feathers may have stopped crash landings
C. yangi's long tail feathers may have helped it control its flight speed as it tried to land.
- Life
You don’t have to go to Antarctica to see wild penguins
Tourists can visit many species of wild penguins outside of Antarctica.
- Plants
Wine corks may owe quality to gene activity
Discovery of genes that distinguish superior stoppers from inferior ones could help reverse recent global downturn in quality.
- Neuroscience
Electrode turns consciousness on and off
Woman lost awareness, though appeared awake, when her brain was stimulated near an area called the claustrum.
- Neuroscience
In female flies, sex is more complex than yes or no
A female fruit fly’s role in mating has appeared to be a simple yes or no. But now three new papers show the behavior is far more subtle, and intricate, than first thought.
- Earth
Bird’s-eye views of the globe highlight avian trouble spots
Recent maps reveal trouble spots for the world’s imperiled birds.
- Life
Domesticated animals’ juvenile appearance tied to embryonic cells
Mild defects in embryonic cells could explain physical similarities along with tameness across domesticated species.
