Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Neuroscience
Brain shot
Deciphering how the brain’s circuitry produces thought and behavior is an ambitious and enticing goal on the scale of the Apollo Program or the Human Genome Project. But the neuroscientists involved in a new federal effort have many challenges ahead.
- Earth
Ammonite jaws provide a window into ancient climate
Temperature of marine environment can be determined from cephalopod fossils.
