Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Report of earlier, longer puberty in girls
A Danish study finds young girls are entering puberty notably earlier than 15 years ago — for reasons that remain unknown.
- Health & Medicine
Narcolepsy linked to immune system
Genome association study finds a second connection between the sleep disorder and the body's disease-fighting apparatus
- Life
Ants may be the Undead
Living Argentine ant workers may carry the chemical signatures of death along with an override signal that says, "No undertaker needed yet."
- Paleontology
Soft tissue from a dino fossil
Researchers have uncovered soft tissue and fragments of several proteins from a hadrosaur.
- Life
Expansive genetic diversity in Africa revealed
Largest genetic study of African populations yields clues about the origin of modern humans and the ancestry of African-Americans
- Life
Birds bust a move to musical beats
Parrots and possibly other vocal-mimicking animals can synchronize their movements to a musical beat, two new studies suggest.
- Health & Medicine
Institute of Medicine takes on conflicts of interest
The Institute of Medicine seeks to divorce medical research from undue influence by the pharmaceutical and medical-device industries.
- Life
Connectivity may play role in autism
Large studies of autism suggest connections between neurons are the culprit.
- Life
Mimivirus up close
Scientists get a closer look at the structure of mimivirus, the largest virus in the world.
- Animals
Caterpillars’ chirp could be scary
Larvae of great peacock moths might signal that they’ll put up a fight.
- Plants
Climatic effects of tree-killing hurricanes
A new analysis suggests storm damage returns millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year.
- Life
Function for green fluorescent protein
Scientists find that the glowing molecule also passes electrons, offering a new clue about the natural function of a protein that's become ubiquitous in molecular biology.
