Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
A gene for a short night’s sleep
Alterations in a gene called DEC2 lead to a shortened sleep period in people, mice and fruit flies.
- Animals
SOS: Call the ants
Emergency ant workers bite at snares, dig and tug to free trapped sisters
-
-
- Agriculture
Pesticide potency can depend on bug’s clock
The daily rhythms in gene activity can affect the toxicity of some poisons.
- Animals
Tool use to crow about
A pair of new studies indicates that crows can employ tools in advanced ways, including using stones to displace water in a container and manipulating three sticks in sequence to reach food.
- Life
Death-grip fungus made me do it
Infection may be driving ants to set their jaws in low-hanging leaves before they die.
- Life
DEET’s nastiness extends to humans
Study finds the bug-repellent ingredient stopped an enzyme from doing its job.
-
- Health & Medicine
Adult mouse gut makes new neurons
Scientists find newborn nerve cells in the intestines of adult mice, suggesting a new line of research for treating intestinal disorders.
- Earth
On plant invaders and bat fungus
Researchers discuss invasive species and bat-infecting fungi at the Botany & Mycology 2009 meeting
- Animals
Of mice and men
Rapid anatomical changes in rodents linked to increases in human population density, precipitation.
