Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. Animals

    A new orange and black bat species is always ready for Halloween

    A new species from the sky islands of Africa’s Nimba Mountains shows bats’ colorful streak.

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  4. Life

    Giant worms may have burrowed into the ancient seafloor to ambush prey

    20-million-year-old tunnels unearthed in Taiwan may have been home to creatures that ambushed prey similar to today’s monstrous bobbit worms.

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  5. Animals

    Some bacteria are suffocating sea stars, turning the animals to goo

    For years, researchers thought an infectious pathogen was behind sea star wasting disease. Instead, bacteria deplete the starfishes’ oxygen.

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  6. Life

    Monitor lizards’ huge burrow systems can shelter hundreds of small animals

    Two species of Australian monitor lizards dig nests four meters deep. Now scientists reveal that the burrows are home to far more than their creators.

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  7. Animals

    Some electric eels coordinate attacks to zap their prey

    Electric eels were thought be to solitary hunters, until researchers observed over 100 eels hunting together, releasing coordinated electric attacks on corralled prey.

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  8. Plants

    Rats with poisonous hairdos live surprisingly sociable private lives

    Deadly, swaggering rodents purr and snuggle when they’re with mates and young.

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  9. Paleontology

    Newborn megalodon sharks were larger than most adult humans

    Preserved pieces of backbone suggest that megalodon sharks were about 2 meters long at birth.

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  10. Neuroscience

    Mice may ‘catch’ each other’s pain — and pain relief

    Healthy mice mirror a companion’s pain or morphine-induced relief. Disrupting certain connections in the brain turns off such empathetic behaviors.

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  11. Animals

    Brown tree snakes use their tails as lassos to climb wide trees

    A never-before-seen climbing technique could inspire the creation of new serpentine robots to navigate difficult terrains.

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  12. Climate

    Ocean acidification may make some species glow brighter

    Ocean organisms use bioluminescence for hunting, defense and more. A new analysis shows that declines in water pH might change who glows and how much.

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