Life
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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip
Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.
- Life
Why corals do calisthenics
Pulsating motion appears to flush water to improve photosynthetic efficiency in symbiotic algae.
By Susan Milius - Paleontology
My Beloved Brontosaurus
On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Brian Switek.
- Animals
A Different Kind of Smart
Animals’ cognitive shortcomings are as revealing as their genius.
By Susan Milius - Life
Bats are 3-D cartographers
Special cells in the mammal’s brain chart its path as it flies.
By Meghan Rosen - Life
Infants, whether mice or human, love to be carried
Being toted around calms and quiets babies of both species.
By Meghan Rosen - Microbes
Some like it acidic
In a higher-carbon world of altered oceans, a shelled plankton species may flourish.
- Life
Coelacanth is not closest fishy relative of terrestrial animals
Genes of “living fossil” do reveal changes needed to live on dry land.
- Life
New bird flu claims more victims
H7N9 influenza spreads to Beijing, may come from poultry and pigeons.
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- Life
New technique gives see-through view into mouse brains
Replacing fatty molecules turns organs transparent, allowing study of structure and function at the same time.
- Life
Dinosaur embryos were restless, speedy growers
Hundreds of fossils found in China suggest some unhatched dinos kicked their legs.
By Erin Wayman