Life
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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LifeSimple body, complex blueprints
Genes key to the development of modern animals' body plans show up in primitive-looking comb jellies.
By Amy Maxmen -
Health & MedicineWake up and smell the java
The smell of coffee leads to changes in gene activity in sleep-deprived rats, hinting at the molecular basis for the relaxing effect of the aroma seen in experiments.
By Tia Ghose -
Health & MedicineNabbing suspicious SNPs
Scientists search the whole genome for clues to common diseases.
By Regina Nuzzo -
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AnimalsBOOK LIST | Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human
The story of a chimp being raised by humans —and washing the dishes (p.130). NIM CHIMPSKY: THE CHIMP WHO WOULD BE HUMAN Bantam Books, 2008, 269 p., $23.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineTame-walk potion
A one-two sting and a cockroach lets a wasp lead it like a dog on a leash.
By Susan Milius -
ChemistryLife before proteins
Spheres of fat suggest a way that life on Earth could have gotten started.
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LifeZombie babysitters
Wasp attack creates undead caterpillars that protect wasp young
By Susan Milius -
LifeReplaying evolution
By watching bacteria evolve in the lab for 20 years, researchers show that evolution may be rather capricious.
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LifeTracing human roots
Using a new method of data analysis, researchers have found that the Americas were peopled in two different migrations.
By Tia Ghose -
AnimalsNot so prudish after all
Unsuspected genetic diversity found in asexual animals.
By Amy Maxmen