Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Ants manage incest without inbreeding
An unorthodox family structure may have helped longhorn crazy ants spread around the globe.
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- Life
Aerobic exercise boosts memory
Regular walking improved seniors' recall and reversed declines in the size of a brain structure important for remembering.
- Life
Pneumonia drugs helped evolve a superbug
As told through DNA from historical samples, a deadly bacterium reveals how it developed the ability to evade antibiotics and a vaccine.
- Life
Deadly for bugs, perfect for bat naps
A death chamber for insects, the interior of a carnivorous pitcher plant doubles as a cozy daytime roost for small, flying woolly mammals.
- Math
Unnatural selection
Inflicting damage on targeted species can help preserve perturbed ecosystems.
- Animals
Chimps wear personalities on their mugs
Humans can assess the dominance of their close evolutionary relatives by glancing at the apes’ expressionless faces.
- Chemistry
Wee work-around lets microbes thrive
Some crafty, salt-loving cells use stolen equipment for processing a key cellular building block.
- Life
Plastic-lined nests keep rivals at bay
A tangle of shopping bag scraps tells black kites in a Spanish national park that another bird’s home is not to be messed with.
- Life
Old amoebas spawn their farms
Some slime molds use a simple form of agriculture to ensure a steady food supply.
- Chemistry
Bitter flavors boost hunger hormone
Experiments in mice may help explain the allure of the aperitif.
- Chemistry
Why olive oil’s quality is in the cough
An anti-inflammatory compound found in the best presses tickles taste sensors in the throat, a study finds.
