Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

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  1. Life

    Viruses rewritten

    Scientists could create wimpy versions of real viruses to develop vaccines for emerging diseases.

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  2. Life

    Losing sleep

    A genetic source of mental retardation and autism may also disrupt sleep patterns.

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  3. Agriculture

    Bee-Loved Plantings

    Zipcode-organized guidelines tell gardeners, farmers and others how to design a landscape that will not only entice pollinators but also keep these horticultural helpers happy.

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  4. Life

    Fossil helps document shift from sea to land

    New fossils of an ancient, four-limbed creature help fill in the blanks of the evolutionary transition between fish and the first land-adapted vertebrates.

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  5. Plants

    Move it or lose it

    Climate change may have dire consequences for California’s native plants, which may need to take refuge in some the areas under pressure for development.

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  6. Animals

    Don’t blame the guys

    Scientists take a new look at what drives female damselflies to look like males.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Ch-ch-ch-changes

    Epigenetic shifts continue throughout a person’s lifetime, and the overall pattern of these shifts appears similar within families.

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  8. Ecosystems

    Human ‘Signature’ in Fish Losses

    Why the whales-ate-my-fish argument doesn't hold water.

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  9. Ecosystems

    On Whales’ Appetites: What a Waste

    An advocacy group and renowned scientist floundered in an attempt to compel opinion shapers with the science showing that industrial fleets, not whales, pose a serious threat to fish stocks.

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  10. Life

    Nearly immortal sea creature spreads

    Hydrozoan with reversible life cycle now found worldwide.

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  11. Humans

    Whaling back to the future

    International commission meets after soul-searching on years of dispute.

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  12. Life

    When cells go quiet

    Connections between nerve cells may be lost when communication between the cells lapses.

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