Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Earth

    A massive cavern beneath a West Antarctic glacier is teeming with life

    A subglacial river has carved out the cavern beneath the Kamb Ice Stream, a West Antarctic glacier, and may be supplying nutrients necessary for life.

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  2. Life

    Comb jellies have a bizarre nervous system unlike any other animal

    A 3-D map of the comb jelly “nerve net” reveals fused neurons that lack the space, or synapses, most neurons use to communicate. Did it evolve independently?

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  3. Animals

    Northern elephant seals sleep just two hours a day at sea

    The marine mammals have truly awesome stamina for staying awake, sleeping only minutes at a time on months-long trips at sea.

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  4. Animals

    Urchins are dying off across the Caribbean. Scientists now know why

    A type of single-celled microorganism associated with coral diseases is behind a sea urchin die-off in the Caribbean.

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  5. Neuroscience

    The classic map of how the human brain manages movement gets an update

    Functional MRI scans provide a new version of the motor homunculus, the mapping of how the primary motor cortex controls parts of the body.

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  6. Animals

    Octopus, squid and cuttlefish arms evolved to ‘taste’ different compounds

    Octopus suckers can taste a variety of greasy, sticky molecules, while squid and cuttlefish suckers detect bitter compounds.

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  7. Animals

    Hibernating bears don’t get blood clots. Now scientists know why

    People who sit still for hours have an increased risk of blood clots, but hibernating bears and people with long-term immobility don’t. A key clotting protein appears to be the reason why.

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  8. Paleontology

    Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record

    The newly identified species Icaronycteris gunnelli lived about 52.5 million years ago in what is now Wyoming and looked a lot like modern bats.

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  9. Animals

    Freshwater leeches’ taste for snails could help control snail-borne diseases

    A freshwater leech species will eat snails, raising the possibility that leeches could be used to control snail-borne diseases that infect humans and livestock.

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  10. Animals

    The last leg of the longest butterfly migration has now been identified

    After a long journey across the Sahara, painted lady butterflies from Europe set up camp in central Africa to wait out winter and breed.

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  11. Science & Society

    The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky

    The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.

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  12. Animals

    This sea cucumber shoots sticky tubes out of its butt. Its genes hint at how

    A new genetics study is providing a wealth of information about silky, sticky tubes, called the Cuvierian organ, that sea cucumbers use to tangle foes.

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