Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Genetic defect tied to autoimmune diseases
Rare mutations in an enzyme lead to several different disorders.
- Science & Society
Citation inflation
Many journals – and the authors who publish their novel data and analyses in them – rely on “impact factors” as a gauge of the importance and prestige of their work. However, a new analysis turns up subtle ways that journals can game the system to artificially inflate their impact factor.
- Life
Forget mice, elephants intimidated by ants
Swarms of little nuisances have an outsized effect on who nibbles which trees in the African savanna.
- Health & Medicine
H1N1 virus lacks Spanish flu’s killer protein
Researchers uncover a deadly secret of Spanish flu.
- Humans
First Mexican-American and African-American genomes completed
Studies hint that genetic diversity among Native Americans may rival that seen in some African populations.
- Earth
Ancient marine reptiles losing their cool
Warm-bloodedness may help explain the creatures’ evolutionary success, a new study suggests.
- Ecosystems
Parasite brood gets help from nearby microbes
A critical interaction between whipworm and E. coli suggests a new way to battle the common gut infection.
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- Life
Missing chemicals on Titan could signal life
Methane-based organisms on one of Saturn’s moons might be consuming the materials.
- Earth
Possible snake shortage looms
Declines among species in Europe and Africa raise herpetologists’ worries of widespread population losses.
- Climate
With warming, some commercial fish may boom and bust
Higher temps in Arctic waters might be good for some species but not for others, new research suggests.
- Life
Marine creature cooks up chemical defense from food
The sea hare transforms a benign algal pigment into a noxious molecule to help ward off crabs and other predators, new studies show.
