Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Brain enables sight without light
Sensory cross talk may underlie ability to see one’s own hand moving when it’s pitch black.
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- Animals
Wag the dog: When left vs. right matters
Most of us see a wagging dog’s tail and automatically think it’s a good sign. But are some wags more friendly than others? A new study says yes.
- Neuroscience
Mind to motion
Brain-computer interfaces promise new freedom for the paralyzed and immobile.
- Animals
How ticks get under your skin
A close look at a tick’s mouthparts reveals enviable burrowing tools.
- Life
Steroids boost muscles for the long haul
Experiments in mice suggest that effects don’t end when doping does.
- Animals
The daemon cat that never was
Buried in a volume published in 1904 is a description of a new species of cat found in Transcaucasia: Felis daemon, the Black Wild Cat.
- Microbes
Prairie microbes could aid region’s restoration
Surveying the bacteria living in the soils of grassland ecosystems may help revive the habitats.
- Animals
Making a snake spectacle
Snakes have a thin layer over their eyes filled with blood vessels. A scientist has shown how snakes control those blood vessels to help them see.
- Life
Morel mushroom may grow crop of its own
A fungus could be a farmer itself, sowing, cultivating and harvesting bacteria.
- Animals
Reindeer eyes change color in winter darkness
One part of an Arctic reindeer’s eyes changes color in winter and increases the sensitivity of the animal’s vision.
