Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
Not your typical pterosaur
A beautifully preserved fossil from Germany displays a wing unlike any ever seen.
- Life
Trout nose cells follow magnetic fields
Iron-rich tissue may be at root of a biological compass.
- 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.
- Microbes
Killing with the flip of a switch
A single genetic transformation turns mild-mannered bacteria into assassins.
- 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.
- Life
Space trek may help worms live long
After 11 days in orbit, nematodes showed signs of slower aging.
- Life
All dinosaurs may have had feathers
Well-preserved fossil sports long, fine plumage and a bushy tail.
- Animals
Climate adaptation may be a family affair
Newborn coral reef fish can cope with changed water conditions if their parents have already adjusted.
- Animals
Mosquitoes Remade
Scientists reinvent agents of illness to become allies in fight against disease.
- Genetics
Convenience shoulders tomato taste aside
Decades of breeding for uniform color in unripe fruit may accidentally have reduced flavor.
- Animals
Dinosaur debate gets cooking
A key piece of evidence for cold-blooded dinosaurs, growth lines in bones, has also been discovered in a set of warm-blooded animals.
- Humans
Lead poisoning stymies condor recovery
California’s iconic comeback species may need human help as long as even a small percentage of the carcasses they eat contain lead shot.
