Life

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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Genes help monarchs migrate

    At least 40 genes help monarch butterflies find their way to overwintering sites in Mexico.

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  2. Ecosystems

    Exxon Valdez: Tidal waters still troubled

    From birds and clams to herring, many species continue to show persistent impacts of an oil spill that occurred two decades ago.

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  3. Life

    Louse-y genome surprise

    Blood-sucking body lice have an odd arrangement of mitochondrial genes.

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  4. Life

    Dissing a loaded label for some unicellular life

    Prominent biologist calls ‘prokaryote’ outdated term.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    How herpes re-rears its ugly head

    Researchers identify a key player in the reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1.

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  6. Life

    Wild herring prove fast organizers

    Recent technology helps researchers find out how a bunch of fish turn into a shoal.

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  7. Ecosystems

    Exxon Valdez killed future for some killer whales

    An Alaskan oil spill disrupted family structure in killer-whale groups, with lasting and dramatic repercussions.

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  8. Humans

    Otters and oil: Problems remain

    The behavior of Alaska's southern sea otters may unwittingly expose them to toxic oil-spill residues.

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  9. Animals

    It’s not just his croak

    Male tree frogs with redder vocal sacs prove more popular with females, even at night.

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  10. Animals

    Dogs show a fetching communication savvy

    In a sign of understanding that one object can be used to represent another, border collies fetch toys after being shown replicas or, in some cases, photos of those toys.

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  11. Ecosystems

    U.S. bird populations in decline, report says

    Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar releases a review of U.S. bird populations.

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  12. Plants

    Plants reveal pollen-luring secrets

    Scientists finally pin down the proteins one plant uses to lure pollen tubes to its plant ovaries.

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