Life

  1. Animals

    Tongue bristles help bats lap up nectar

    High-speed videos capture stretched-out tongue bumps that stretch out so nectar-feeding bats can slurp up their food.

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  2. Neuroscience

    Pieces of Light

    How the New Science of Memory Illuminates the Stories We Tell About Our Pasts by Charles Fernyhough.

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  3. Animals

    Winged robots may shed light on fly aerobatics

    After years of trying, researchers create flapping machines that can hover and perform rudimentary flight maneuvers.

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  4. Animals

    Evolutionary enigmas

    Comb jelly genetics suggest a radical redrawing of the tree of life.

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  5. Animals

    Deep-sea worms drop acid to get dinner

    Bone-eating worms produce chemicals to dissolve and feed on skeletons.

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  6. Animals

    Fossil illuminates ancestry of swifts and hummingbirds

    Spectacularly preserved remains suggest that the two avian groups' predecessors got small before splitting and developing their flying chops.

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  7. Life

    Genetic fossils betray hepatitis B’s ancient roots

    Modern bird genomes reveal evidence that virus is at least 82 million years old.

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  8. Life

    Bees need honey’s natural pharmaceuticals

    Ingredients trigger insects' genes for detoxification and immune defenses against bacteria.

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  9. Life

    Signs of culture in whales and monkeys

    Mammals learn feeding behaviors from their friends and family members.

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  10. Life

    So far, the great tit has coped with climate change

    Earlier arrival of birds’ food due to warming temperatures hasn’t yet reduced bird population.

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  11. Life

    Birds may have had to crouch before they could fly

    Digital reconstructions of avian ancestors show a progressive redistribution of weight toward the front of the body.

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  12. Life

    Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip

    Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.

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