Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Running interference on cholesterol
Injected RNA molecule lowers LDL in rats and monkeys.
- Life
Humans aided, constrained by fossil fuels
Maintaining long-term population will require alternate energy sources.
- Life
DNA defense
Scientists find a type of white blood cell releases its mitochondrial DNA, along with toxic proteins, as a defense against invading bacteria.
- Life
Beetles hear the heat
Researchers verify fire beetles have a pressure vessel that enables them to sense intense heat.
- Life
Making T cells tougher against HIV
Delivering small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, to human immune cells in mice protects the cells from HIV and suggests future therapy for patients.
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- Life
Eat less, weigh more
Separate neurons in the nematode brain control eating and fat-building. The discovery may help explain some mysteries of obesity.
- Life
Time to chill
Well-preserved fossils deposited in an Antarctic lake about 14 million years ago pin down when a large part of the now-icy continent most recently dipped below freezing.
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- Animals
Built for Speed
Animals would prove fierce competitors at the Olympics — if only they would stay in their lanes.
- Health & Medicine
Neuron Killers
Misfolded, clumping proteins evade conviction, but they remain prime suspects in neurodegenerative diseases.
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