Life

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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Immune disease an added blow to fungus-ridden bat populations

    Rare immune complication previously seen only in people devastates animals that had appeared to evade white nose syndrome.

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  2. Humans

    Genetic diversity exploded in recent millennia

    Among hundreds of thousands of DNA variants identified in a study, a large majority arose in the past 5,000 years.

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  3. Life

    Blue whales’ diet and exercise rolled into one

    Marine predator performs underwater acrobatics for best chance at catching a meal.

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  4. Life

    Trees worldwide a sip away from dehydration

    Plumbing systems operate on a razor’s edge, making even moist forests highly vulnerable to drought.

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  5. Life

    Chromosome ends hold clues to a bird’s longevity

    Short telomeres are tied to higher mortality in Indian Ocean warblers.

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  6. Neuroscience

    Study gives a jolt to brain researchers seeking to understand face blindness

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  7. Life

    Rainforest katydids evolved mammal-like ears

    Tiny hearing organs below insect’s knees have a structure similar to those in humans.

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  8. Life

    Ebola may go airborne

    Infected pigs can transmit virus to primates without contact, a new study finds.

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  9. Anthropology

    Highlights from the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting

    Iceman’s origins, DNA fingerprinting, microRNAs and cancer risk, and growth genes and obesity risk.

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  10. Life

    Telomere length linked to risk of dying

    Large study examines association between protective caps at end of chromosomes and health.

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  11. Life

    Rare genetic tweaks may not be behind common diseases

    Variants thought to be behind inherited conditions prove difficult to pin down.

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  12. Life

    Seaweed-threatened corals send chemical SOS to fish

    The cry for help summons allies to graze away the algal overgrowth.

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