Primitive human eggs matured in the lab for the first time
Human eggs have been removed in their most primitive state and brought to maturity in the lab for the first time, potentially boosting fertility treatments.
Birds ‘dream sing’ by moving their vocal muscles in their sleep
Zebra finches sing during the day, and at night while they sleep their vocal organs act out the motions of singing, a bit like a sleepwalking person
Oldest dog burial suggests prehistoric humans loved dogs as pets
A dog that was buried with its owners 14,000 years ago was chronically ill throughout its life, yet its owners repeatedly nursed it back to health – suggesting a deep bond of friendship
Deep-sea fish lay eggs near hydrothermal vents to keep them warm
Pacific white skate lay their eggs onto the sizzling hot rocks of hydrothermal vents in the depths of the sea, possibly because the heat speeds up their development
The worst mass extinction may have begun with mass sterilisation
There seems to have been a surge in ultraviolet radiation during the Permian extinction 252 million years ago, and it might have left plants infertile rather than kill them
Beetles escape alive after almost 2 hours in a toad’s stomach
Bombardier beetles sometimes get eaten by toads, but they can squirt hot, toxic jets of liquid from their backsides so the toads often vomit them right back up
Ancient rock art rewrites the natural history of Arabia
The archaeological record suggests few large animals lived in Arabia in the last few thousand years, but prehistoric rock art from the area depicts a host of big beasts
Rare wooden tools show that Neanderthals got creative with fire
Wooden tools are hardly ever preserved, but a cache found in Italy suggests Neanderthals made them with fire and used them to dig up foods like tubers
Tropical plants are blooming as they gorge on our pollution
We are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, heating the planet, but some plants are using the excess carbon dioxide to make more flowers
Polar bears waste lots of their energy and it could be a problem
We thought polar bears had neat tricks for conserving energy in lean periods, but it turns out they are not that thrifty, which could cause them trouble in the future