Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Help, elephants need somebody
In pull-together tests, pachyderms are on par with chimps in understanding the basics of cooperation.
- Life
Good gene type for cancer bad for stroke
A DNA variant that helps prevent tumors may diminish the brain’s recovery after an interruption in blood supply.
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- Life
Hagfish may eat through their skin
The odd dining habits of carrion-eating protovertebrates may be relevant to the evolutionary transition to land.
- Life
Lab-engineered organism fights malaria
A new breed of poison-secreting fungi can kill parasites in a mosquito.
- Humans
U.S. probably began global fire ant spread
A genetic study shows that recent international invasions likely originated in the U.S. South, not the species’ native South American range.
- Life
Genes & Cells
Mouse fur yields insights into the genetics of camouflage, plus more in this week’s news.
- Chemistry
Mad cow-type diseases lie in wait
Prion infections build quickly in the brain then pause before killing, new research suggests.
- Life
Tobacco tricks caterpillars with treats
Larvae that eat tempting hairs on the plant's leaves make themselves more attractive to predators.
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- Tech
Physics of burrowing sandfish revealed
A new study shows how sandfish lizards swim through Saharan sands, a find that could inspire better burrowing tools for use in the aftermath of disasters.
- Life
Biologists go bats for storm-watch data
Borrowing meteorologists’ weather radar info may reveal new view of the ecology of flying animals.
