Life

Sign up for our newsletter

We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Boas take pulse as they snuff it out

    Snakes use the waning throb in their prey as a signal to stop squeezing.

    By
  2. Genetics

    Today’s information revolution illuminates diseases spread in the age of discovery

    By
  3. Life

    Rising carbon dioxide confuses brain signaling in fish

    Nerve cells respond to acidifying waters.

    By
  4. Humans

    Bush meat can be a viral feast

    Monkeys and apes are considered edible game in many parts of Africa. As Africans have emigrated to other parts of the world, some have retained their love of this so-called bushmeat. A new study now finds that even when smoked, meat from nonhuman primates — from chimps to monkeys — can host potentially dangerous viruses. Smuggled imports confiscated at U.S. airports provided the samples tested in this investigation.

    By
  5. Life

    Crabs hither, shrimp thither

    Biologists document surprising differences among deep-sea animals at hydrothermal vent fields.

    By
  6. Life

    Green gleam helps fish see violet

    A deep-sea fish's eyes apparently use fluorescence to pick up hard-to-detect hues, researchers conclude.

    By
  7. Life

    Rhino beetle’s horn may be cheap

    Outrageous-looking head spikes on the male of the species may not cost much in evolutionary terms.

    By
  8. Life

    Eight-legged evolution exploits editing

    Octopuses adapt to water temperature with tweaks to how genes are copied, not DNA itself.

    By
  9. Life

    Three monkeys a genetic mishmash

    Feat suggests embryonic stem cells are less flexible in primates than mice.

    By
  10. Life

    Measuring the leap of a lizard

    Creatures use their tails to balance during complex maneuvers.

    By
  11. Humans

    Botanists et al freed from Latin, paper

    As of January 1, people who classify new plant, algae and fungus species can do it in English and online.

    By
  12. Life

    Sun-oil mix deadly for young herring

    Fish embryos proved surprisingly vulnerable to a 2007 spill in San Francisco Bay.

    By