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1932

Living World

Night of the zombie insects

A parasitic fungus takes over the brains of flies and controls them for its own sinister ends. Here’s the science behind the horror.

When ribosomes go rogue

Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say.

Are you my baby? The clever ways that brood parasites trick other birds

Cuckoos, cowbirds and other species outsource their parental duties. Scientists are uncovering new twists in this sneaky — and often treacherous — game of survival.

We are family: Tracing the evolution of animals

To understand the origins of multicelled life, researchers are studying a motley assortment of simpler animal relatives. The commonalities they’re unearthing offer a trove of clues about our mutual past.

Hummingbirds thrive on an extreme lifestyle. Here’s how.

Soldiering through nightly suspended animation, a (nearly) all-sugar diet, backwards flight and long migrations, the birds’ tiny physiques prove mighty

Your cells are dying. All the time.

Some go gently into the night. Others die less prettily in freak accidents or deadly invasions, or after a showy display.

Targeting the racial disparity in kidney disease

Some people of West African descent face a higher risk of renal failure. New drugs based on gene research may help right the ship — if they can reach everyone who needs them.

What if a virus could reverse antibiotic resistance?

In promising experiments, phage therapy forces bacteria into a no-win dilemma that lowers their defenses against drugs they’d evolved to withstand

What’s that smell — and how’d you know?

It’s clear that genes, receptors and neurons all play a role in detecting odors. But much of how we make sense of what we sniff remains mysterious. A neuroscientist explains.

These proteins have been secretly managing your cells

Scientists have long known that histones spool DNA and help regulate genes. They may be doing a lot more.

The phageome: A hidden kingdom within your gut

Human innards are teeming with viruses that infect bacteria. What are they up to?

What a bioluminescent petunia had to teach me

I bought a glowing plant. It led me down a rabbit hole of radiant mushrooms, 19th century experiments and a modern rivalry between scientists in Russia and the Americas.

Air pollution makes it harder for bees to smell flowers

Contaminants can alter plant odors and warp insects’ senses, disrupting the process of pollination

Of genes, chromosomes and oratorios

Jenny Graves has spent her life mapping genes and comparing genomes. Now she’s created a musical opus about evolution of life on this planet — bringing the same drive and experimentalism she brought to the study of marsupial chromosomes.

It’s not just us: Other animals change their social habits in old age

In patterns that may sound familiar, long-term studies reveal what elderly deer, sheep and macaques are up to in their twilight years

Animals use physics? Let us count the ways

Cats twist and snakes slide, exploiting and negotiating physical laws. Scientists are figuring out how.

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