Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Animals
That stinky gorilla may be trying to say something
Scientists have found the first evidence of wild gorillas communicating by scent.
- Neuroscience
Heavy marijuana use may affect dopamine response
People who regularly smoke five joints a day had dampened reactions to the chemical messenger dopamine.
- Paleontology
Baby mammoths died traumatic deaths
CT scans show that two young mammoths probably suffocated.
- Health & Medicine
HIV reemerges in ‘cured’ child
The discovery spotlights limits in detecting the clandestine germ and raises questions about whether HIV can ever truly be cured.
