How the cavefish lost its eyes — again and again 👀 Although eye development commences in cavefish embryos, the process ultimately stalls. Early on, there are clear differences in the activity patterns of genes (top image) involved in eye development. As a result, in cavefish embryos, the optic vesicle from which the eye develops is always smaller. Some 24 hours into development, the cells in the eye lens and the optic cup that usually becomes the rest of the eye start to die. (🧵 1/2)

In the cheeps, trills and tweets of birdsong, scientists find some parallels with human speech. ✍️ Betsy Mason

Knowable Magazine | Annual Reviews

Do birds have language? It depends on how you define it.

In the cheeps, trills and tweets of birdsong, scientists find some parallels with human speech

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A better understanding of human smell is emerging as scientists interrogate its fundamental elements: the odor molecules that enter your nose and the individual neurons that translate them into perception in your brain 🧠 ✍️ Yasemin Saplakoglu, @npub10v34...3j5v

Quanta Magazine

How Smell Guides Our Inner World | Quanta Magazine

A better understanding of human smell is emerging as scientists interrogate its fundamental elements: the odor molecules that enter your nose and t...

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A rift in thinking about who should control powerful new technologies sent the brothers on diverging paths. For one, the story ended with a mission to bring science to the public.

Knowable Magazine | Annual Reviews

The atomic bomb, exile and a test of brotherly bonds: Robert and Frank Oppenheimer

A rift in thinking about who should control powerful new technologies sent the brothers on diverging paths. For one, the story ended with a mission...

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👀 On our radar: $1,000-a-day cancer drug costs 25 cents to make 💬 “That steep tab has put the drug’s lifesaving potential out of reach for some cancer patients, who have been forced into debt or simply stopped taking the drug. The price also helps fuel our ballooning insurance premiums.” ✍️ David Armstrong, @npub1qmg7...s6k5 🔗

ProPublica

The Price of Remission: This Cancer Drug Saves Lives — but Costs a Fortune. I Wanted to Know Why.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug pri...

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning. 📝 Learn more about this in our recent article republished by Ars Technica.

Ars Technica

Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in.

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Most amphibians aren’t exactly doting parents. Yet in as many as one in five amphibian species, one or both parents stick around to care for their offspring, using a staggering variety of strategies. So — what makes an exemplary amphibian parent? Much remains to be discovered, but some common principles have emerged. 👉

Knowable Magazine | Annual Reviews

The tender art of tadpole parenting

From poison frogs to worm-like caecilians, some amphibians are hardworking and surprisingly creative caregivers

Over the last couple of hundred years, linguists have figured out a lot about the first Indo-European language, including many of the words it used and some of the grammatical rules that governed it. Along the way, they’ve come up with theories about who its original speakers were, where and how they lived, and how their language spread so widely. 🔗:

Knowable Magazine | Annual Reviews

A new look at our linguistic roots

Linguists and archaeologists have argued for decades about where, and when, the first Indo-European languages were spoken, and what kind of lives t...

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Knowable Magazine explores the real-world significance of scholarly work through a journalistic lens. A digital magazine from Annual Reviews.

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Some linguists who analyze spoken language say interjections like “hmm,” “pff,” and “ach” offer insights into what makes complex language possible. 📝 Learn more about this in our recent article republished by SAPIENS.

SAPIENS

Huh? The Valuable Role of Interjections

Science writer Bob Holmes says utterances like "um," "wow," and "mm-hmm" aren’t useless—they keep conversations flowing.

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