Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs
When mistaken for females, the guys release an alarming pheromone.
- Life
Birds’ eyes, not beaks, sense magnetic fields
A new study pinpoints migratory songbirds’ magnetic compass in a specific brain region.
- Life
Three dino types may be just three dino ages
Study suggests three dinos placed in separate taxa are actually from one group at different growth stages
- Life
Spiders love sweet smell of blood perfume
For on spider species, feeding on blood-gorged mosquitoes adds charm to a mate
- Earth
Unicorn fly of the Cretaceous
An ancient fly discovered trapped in amber sports a horn atop its head and topped with three eyes.
- Life
African genetic diversity
Researchers are just beginning to explore the genetic landscape of the cradle of humanity
- Humans
A gene critical for speech
Scientists argue a newly discovered stretch of DNA essential for larynx development may have allowed the evolution of language.
- Life
Humpback whale alters song if another one sings along
Acoustical study of male songs shows first evidence of the whales responding musically to each other.
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- Life
Estrogen helps ward off belly fat
Hormone is one reason that men and women carry weight differently
- Life
Fossil find sparks debate on primate origins
A 37-million-year-old jaw suggests the famous fossil Darwinius does not, as had been suggested, fill a gap in human evolution.
- Animals
Junk food turns rats into addicts
Bacon, cheesecake and Ho Hos elicit addictive behavior in rats similar to the behavior of rats addicted to heroin.
