Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Early land arthropods sported shells
Ancient ocean-dwelling arthropods may have worn shells to enable their transition to land.
- Animals
Oh, he’s such a lab bird
Bold flycatchers may be more likely than shy birds to get trapped for lab studies.
- Life
Male chimps exchange meat for sex
A long-term study of chimps living in western Africa indicates that males hunt down monkeys not only to eat their meat, but also to exchange the meat for sex with female chimps.
- Animals
Sonar causes rock-concert effect in dolphins
Test of recorded sonar causes temporary hearing impairment in dolphins.
- Life
Primate vision puts pieces together
Study suggests nerve cells in retinas create an intricate system of interlocking receptive fields.
- Animals
Chimps ambidextrous when digging wells
A survey of water-collection holes dug on the banks of an African river by wild chimpanzees indicates that, unlike people, these apes don’t have a preference for using either the right or left hand on manual tasks.
- Life
Cells renew in the human heart
Carbon 14 from Cold War–era nuclear bomb tests allowed researchers to track cell birth.
- Chemistry
Prions are common, at least in yeast
A new study of shape-shifting proteins in baker’s yeast reveals that prions are common and may help organisms survive in changing conditions.
- Math
Chicks do arithmetic
Using the natural inclination of young chickens to cluster in large groups, researchers show that the birds are hatched with a numerical sense.
- Life
Genes help monarchs migrate
At least 40 genes help monarch butterflies find their way to overwintering sites in Mexico.
- 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.
- Life
Louse-y genome surprise
Blood-sucking body lice have an odd arrangement of mitochondrial genes.
