Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Bats can carry MERS
DNA of a deadly respiratory virus has been found in a Saudi Arabian mammal.
- Life
Natural antifreeze prevents frogsicles
Sugar and other chemicals keep Alaskan frogs from freezing completely.
- Animals
For sheep horns, bigger is not better
Trade-offs between studliness and survival keep less endowed sheep in the mix.
- Life
Bacteria can cause pain on their own
Microbes caused discomfort in mice by activating nerves, not the immune system.
- Animals
Birds know road speed limits
Crows, house sparrows and other species judge when to flee the asphalt by average traffic rates rather than an oncoming car's speed.
- Ecosystems
Aging European forests full to the brim with carbon
Trees' capacity to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is dwindling.
- Plants
Dastardly daisies
This flower isn’t just any old sex cheat. It can be sexually deceptive three ways and in 3-D.
- Life
Years or decades later, flu exposure still prompts immunity
New forms of influenza viruses can spur production of antibodies to past pandemics in people who lived through them.
- Life
To make biofuel, cut the lignin
Researchers disable key protein making plant sugars easier to access.
- Health & Medicine
Gut-brain communication failure may spur overeating
Restoring a depleted molecule in obese mice repaired their abnormal response to food.
-
-
