Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Math
Bumblebees navigate new turf without a map
The insects can quickly calculate the best route between flowers.
- Life
E. coli caught in the act of evolving
Researchers track thousands of bacterial generations to document the development of a trait nearly 25 years in the making.
- Life
DNA tags may dictate bee behavior
Chemical alterations affect genetic activity but not the genes themselves.
- Life
Flash leads to flex in lab-grown muscle
Light-activated artificial tissue inspires dream of squirming wormbots.
- Neuroscience
Copycat mentality may be a hardwired way for animals to learn to avoid others’ mistakes
Copycat mentality may be a hardwired way for animals to learn to avoid others’ mistakes.
- Life
Killer whale mama’s boys live longer
Survival benefits may explain females’ extended life span following menopause.
- Life
Stem cells may help in treating deafness
A new method triggers the development of sound-sensitive neurons in the inner ear.
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- Life
New swine flu virus could infect people
Strains found in Korean pigs contain gene mutations that make them potentially transmissible to humans.
- Life
International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park, Md., August 5–10
Dung beetle gaits and the whine of a mosquito's flight
- Chemistry
Too-young caterpillars like scent of sex
Larvae respond to mate-attracting pheromones, raising evolutionary questions about what a very grown-up chemical signal could mean to them.
- Life
Team releases sequel to the human genome
ENCODE reveals the machinery that switches genes on and off.
