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news Anthropology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Ancient-DNA analysis
Nature studies of 4,587 ancient genomes tie Celtic and Germanic language spread to migrations, but DNA cannot show which language people spoke.
news Biology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Fossil description plus bone chemistry
Two 237-million-year-old skeletons from China may show the first fully marine amphibian. What the fossils and strontium test show, and the caveat that remains.
news Biology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Behavioural laboratory study
Portia jumping spiders meet behavioural tests for sleep, with a REM-like stage that is harder to wake from and rebounds after disruption. No brain data yet.
news Biology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Laboratory cultures and genome analysis
Two newly cultured Heimdallarchaeia, the closest known archaeal relatives of eukaryotes, lack internal membranes. What that means for how complex cells began.
news Biology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Computational model of four connectomes
Simulations of four fly connectomes converge on a three-neuron loop as the walking rhythm generator. Two predictions held in flies; its cells are untested.
explainer Biology
Why do dogs eat grass? A survey of 1,571 dogs and controlled trials show grazing is normal and rarely linked to illness. The real risks, and when to call a…
explainer Biology
Cats purr at about 25 to 30 Hz to signal contact and calm, but also when hungry or hurt. How the larynx makes the sound, which cats purr and the…
explainer Biology
Most horses live 25 to 30 years and a few pass 40, yet many die much younger. Ponies vs horses, the 62-year record, human-year maths and ageing by teeth.
news Biology Evidence status: Peer reviewed · Red List reassessment
A Nature reassessment of 892 reef corals puts 340 of 774 assessed species (44%) in a threatened category. Data end in 2020; risk now is likely higher.
