Life

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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Animals

    Humpbacks make a comeback in British Columbia

    Whale numbers double at a feeding site in Canada.

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  2. Microbes

    Horsetail spores don’t need legs to jump

    Forget legs. A plant uses curly, humidity-controlled ribbons to make epic leaps.

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  3. Animals

    Avoiding feces may be ‘luxury’ wild mice can’t afford

    For a mouse in the woods, finding any food at all may trump poopy locations.

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  4. Life

    Many genes in dolphins and bats evolved in the same way to allow echolocation

    Widespread changes scattered across the genomes of distantly related species cooperated to craft the trait.

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  5. Animals

    Seeking the loneliest whale

    An enigmatic whale roams the North Pacific, and next year Bruce Mate will lead a monthlong expedition to find it.

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  6. Animals

    Collision Course

    The tales of two ornithologists trying to prevent birds colliding with windows highlight the obstacles facing applied biology.

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  7. Animals

    Rats induced into hibernation-like state

    Injection of compound causes animals to slow heartbeat, lower body temperature.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Video game sharpens up elderly brains

    Adults over 60 who played for several hours a month beat untrained 20-year-olds in racing game.

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  9. Animals

    New fungus species found killing salamanders

    First there was amphibian killer fungus Bd. Now there's Bs.

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  10. Animals

    Traveling with elders helps whooping cranes fly straight

    Rare data show birds get more efficient the more they migrate along route between Wisconsin and Florida.

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  11. Life

    Tiny human almost-brains made in lab

    Stem cells arrange themselves into a version of the most complex human organ.

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  12. Life

    Flu antibodies can make disease worse

    Pigs vaccinated against one influenza virus got lung damage if infected with another strain.

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