Life
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Life
Study shows where identical twins part ways
By birth, genetic doubles are already using their DNA differently.
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Life
Insulin may be Big Antler hormone
Extra sensitivity to the hormone in certain developing tissues might give animals their oversized weapons and ornaments.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Skinny searchers keep fat ants full
By controlling movement out of an ant nest, researchers discover that ants weigh tubbiness in deciding who hunts for food.
By Meghan Rosen -
Life
Young flies cannibalize the plump
An evolutionary biologist’s modest proposal shocks colleagues who thought they knew everything about their favorite laboratory organism.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Blog: Arsenic-based life gets even more toxic
With a pair of new papers, scientists have driven two more stakes through the heart of a controversial research finding that its authors won’t let die.
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Paleontology
Not your typical pterosaur
A beautifully preserved fossil from Germany displays a wing unlike any ever seen.
By Janet Raloff -
Life
Trout nose cells follow magnetic fields
Iron-rich tissue may be at root of a biological compass.
By Devin Powell -
Life
Egg production after birth questioned
A study finds no evidence of stem cells in adult mouse ovaries, suggesting female mammals really are born with all the gametes they’ll ever have.
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Microbes
Killing with the flip of a switch
A single genetic transformation turns mild-mannered bacteria into assassins.
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Humans
Warning to bats: Cuddle not
Ecologist Kate Langwig of Boston University and her colleagues want Eastern bats to listen up: No more cuddling — at least during hibernation. Just keep those wings to yourselves.
By Janet Raloff