Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Gene links smoking, multiple sclerosis
Smokers with genetic variant face tripled risk of MS.
- Life
Scorpion venom kills pain in mice
Toxin works with nerve proteins to block distress signals’ journey to brain.
- Humans
What makes a face go round
Genetic enhancers acting far away from their intended genes can help shape a face during development.
- Health & Medicine
Inactive HIV poses even greater barrier to cure
The reservoir of dormant virus strains is larger than scientists estimated, a finding that could make the virus harder to combat.
- Animals
Maybe Britain shouldn’t kill its badgers
A study on badger social networks shows that isolated badgers are the ones that most often carry TB and cause infections among — but not within — groups.
- Animals
Common pesticides change odds in ant fights
Species’ combat success can rise or fall after repeated exposure to a common neonicotinoid insecticide.
- Paleontology
An ammonite adventure on the Jurassic Coast
This region is special because fossils are easy to find. They wash out of the cliffs and onto the beach where they are free for anyone to collect, as long as you follow the rules.
- Life
The reason to avoid poop coffee isn’t what you think
Beans from civet feces have become so popular that abuse and fraud are common.
- Neuroscience
Brain stimulation restores movement in rats with spinal cord damage
Implanted electrodes might help paralyzed humans walk.
- Science & Society
Humans’ living creations put on display
The Center for PostNatural History, a museum that opened in 2012, features Freckles and other organisms altered by humans.
- Animals
Frog-eating bats trust self first when hunting
The mammals listen to cues from fellow bats when their own resources fail.
- Plants
Single-sex flowers release his, hers fragrances
Growing on the same tree, male blooms smell different from female blooms in certain tropical plant species.
