Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Modified genes can distort wild cotton’s interactions with insects
In a Yucatan nature park, engineered genes influence nectar production, affecting ants’ and maybe pollinators’ attraction to the wild cotton plants.
- Life
Meatier meals and more playtime might reduce cats’ toll on wildlife
Outdoor cats kill billions of birds and mammals each year. Simply satisfying their need to hunt or supplementing their diets could lessen that impact.
- Life
A reeking, parasitic plant lost its body and much of its genetic blueprint
The Sapria himalayana flower's extreme parasitic lifestyle inside the body of its host has left a bizarre imprint on its genome.
- Earth
Fossil mimics may be more common in ancient rocks than actual fossils
Evidence of early life may be harder to preserve than pseudofossils — structures that form abiotically but resemble living remnants.
- Animals
A new chameleon species may be the world’s tiniest reptile
The newly described critters, found in the northern forests of Madagascar, may be threatened by deforestation.
- Neuroscience
Famous brain sketches come to life again as embroideries
A needlework project pays tribute to the iconic drawings of Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal.
- Animals
How a tiny spider uses silk to lift prey 50 times its own weight
Dropping the right silk can haul mice, lizards and other giants up off the ground.
- Paleontology
This ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other
Right up until 66 million years ago, the sea was a teeming evolutionary laboratory with a small, agile, razor-toothed mosasaur patrolling the waters.
- Animals
50 years ago, scientists made the case for a landlubbing Brontosaurus
In 1971, a scientist argued for a landbound Brontosaurus instead of a swampy swimmer. Recent evidence comes from studies of its ancient environment.
- Genetics
Lizard-like tuatara carry two distinct mitochondrial genomes
Having two mitochondrial genetic instruction books, a first for vertebrates, may help explain tuatara’s unique ability to tolerate cold temperatures.
- Animals
Naked mole-rat colonies speak with unique dialects
Machine learning reveals that these social rodents communicate with distinctive speech patterns that are culturally inherited.
- Tech
A robot arm toting a Venus flytrap can grab delicate objects
By attaching electrodes to the plant’s leaves, researchers found a way to snap its traps shut on command.
