Self-awareness may be beyond primates in the wild. Chimps, organutans and other species faced with a mirror react to a dot on their face in the lab, a widely used measure of self-awareness. But while baboons in Namibia exposed to mirrors find the reflective glass fascinating, they don’t respond to dots placed on their faces,…
Scratching an itch can bring a contradictory wave of pleasure and misery. A mouse study on scratching, reported in the Jan. 31 Science, fleshes out this head-scratching paradox and could point out ways to better curb pernicious itch in people. First, the bad news: Scratching itchy ears led to a round of inflammation. Itch-provoking substances,…
In general, sharks have a reputation as swimming garbage cans that unflinchingly dine on whatever they can fit in their jaws. But in French Polynesia, blacktip reef sharks that frequent places where tourists toss them low-quality scraps are taking a hit to their metabolic and reproductive health, researchers report December 24 in Animal Conservation. Around…
A tiny neutrino detector has found its footing in a fresh setting — at a nuclear reactor. Conventional detectors of the subatomic particles require metric tons of material. But the new detector has a mass of less than 3 kilograms. Think chihuahua. And it successfully detected antineutrinos, the antimatter counterparts of neutrinos, streaming from a nuclear…
In 1960, a new drug revolutionized society from the bedroom to the streets. The introduction of a hormonal contraceptive, the birth control pill, gave women reproductive autonomy and a more effective way to plan a family. Since then, many more options have arrived: different pill formulations; hormonal implants, patches and vaginal rings; IUDs and barrier…
Trump orders sow chaos in global public health