Life
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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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
By Susan Milius - 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.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Ancient giant beavers did not chow on trees
The now-extinct animals had a hippo-like diet
By Sid Perkins - 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.
By Bruce Bower - 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.
- Life
People can control their Halle Berry neurons
Researchers pinpoint individual brain cells that respond to particular people and objects.
- Life
Golgi’s job stretches it thin
Researchers have pinpointed the protein that gives a cell’s control room its shape and also keeps it functioning.