Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Orangutans hit the ground walking
A surprising affinity for moving across the forest floor may aid threatened apes.
- Life
Happy birthday, Mr. Darwin
A male rove beetle that Charles Darwin collected in Argentina in 1832 has finally turned up and been named in his honor.
- Life
Nonhuman city natives in decline but can be conserved
Cities have been a downer on biodiversity but native populations still remain in urban areas, offering a starting point for possible conservation efforts.
- Health & Medicine
Drug injection could limit heart attack damage
Study in pigs suggests hydrogel treatment might minimize the risk of heart failure in survivors.
- Humans
Clovis baby’s genome unveils Native American ancestry
DNA from skeleton shows all tribes come from a single population.
- Life
Charms of small males may collapse a Darwin’s finch species
Mating rules may be changing for one of the storied Galápagos birds.
- Health & Medicine
Feedback
Calculating vaccines' impact, cat-induced bird death toll revised, taming wildcat genetics, and praise for The Science Life.
- Animals
The Ice Age was harsh on orcas
Killer whale DNA shows that climate change resulted in declines for most populations.
- Genetics
Origin of Tibetans’ high-altitude adaptations found
Mixing genes of two ancestral populations gave modern Tibetans their ability to withstand high altitude.
- Health & Medicine
Bad kitty: Cat bites can cause nasty infections
Three in 10 patients seeking treatment for hand bites were hospitalized, study finds.
- Animals
Embryos in eggs move to get comfy
Even before hatching, Chinese alligators, snapping turtles and some relatives can shift toward favorable temperatures.
- Neuroscience
Cataloging the connections
Though a complete map of the brain’s connections is many years away, the mathematical theory of networks can help fill in some of the blank spots.
