Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Skin cells transformed directly into neurons
Researchers making neurons bypass the need to revert cells to an embryonic state.
- Paleontology
Reverbs of bat echolocation studies
Ancient bat may well have used sound waves to sense the world, Sid Perkins reports in the latest Deleted Scenes blog.
- Life
Keeping black bears wild
Wildlife managers compare ways to keep bears away from food and people.
- Life
Carried aloft, tiny creatures avoid parasites, sex
Dry and blowing in the breeze, rotifers are safe from a deadly fungus — and perhaps from the vulnerabilities presumed to accompany asexual reproduction.
- Earth
Dinosaurs, in living color
Researchers find microscopic structures in some fossils that may have held pigments.
- Humans
Cigarettes might be infectious
Science & Society blog: The tobacco in cigarettes hosts a bacterial bonanza — literally hundreds of different germs, including those responsible for many human illnesses, a new study finds.
- Life
For pipefish, measly Mr. Mom needs help
In species with pregnant males, females may put something extra into eggs.
- Life
Carnations had evolutionary bloom boom in Europe
New species have evolved at a surprisingly rapid pace, new study suggests
- Math
Slime mold is master network engineer
Single-cell organism develops food distribution system that is as efficient as the Tokyo rail system; inspires new math model for designing dynamic systems.
- Life
MRSA bacterial strain mutates quickly as it spreads
Antibiotic-resistant microbe's detailed family tree reveals roots of the global infection.
- Life
Protein may be new target for obesity, diabetes therapies
Molecule regulates flip of a metabolic switch, helps determine how the body uses glucose.
- Life
Snail in shining armor
A deep-sea gastropod’s natural shield may offer ideas for human protection.
