Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Bees need honey’s natural pharmaceuticals

    Ingredients trigger insects' genes for detoxification and immune defenses against bacteria.

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  2. Life

    Signs of culture in whales and monkeys

    Mammals learn feeding behaviors from their friends and family members.

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  3. Life

    So far, the great tit has coped with climate change

    Earlier arrival of birds’ food due to warming temperatures hasn’t yet reduced bird population.

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  4. Life

    Birds may have had to crouch before they could fly

    Digital reconstructions of avian ancestors show a progressive redistribution of weight toward the front of the body.

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  5. Life

    Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip

    Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.

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  6. Life

    Why corals do calisthenics

    Pulsating motion appears to flush water to improve photosynthetic efficiency in symbiotic algae.

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  7. Paleontology

    My Beloved Brontosaurus

    On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs by Brian Switek.

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  8. Animals

    A Different Kind of Smart

    Animals’ cognitive shortcomings are as revealing as their genius.

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  9. Life

    Bats are 3-D cartographers

    Special cells in the mammal’s brain chart its path as it flies.

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  10. Life

    Infants, whether mice or human, love to be carried

    Being toted around calms and quiets babies of both species.

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  11. Microbes

    Some like it acidic

    In a higher-carbon world of altered oceans, a shelled plankton species may flourish.

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  12. Life

    Coelacanth is not closest fishy relative of terrestrial animals

    Genes of “living fossil” do reveal changes needed to live on dry land.

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