This Week In Science: Prime Number Breakthrough, The Upside of Boredom, and Whether Seals Come Equipped with GPS

Seven days; lots of science in the news. Here’s our roundup of this week’s most notable and quotable items:

Mathematicians made a major breakthrough in understanding prime numbers. The sedentary modern lifestyle engendered 12,000 years ago by newfangled agricultural technology made our skeletons weaker. A NASA space telescope snapped the most detailed X-ray portrait of the sun ever. Seals may have natural GPS -style capabilities.

Global warming will significantly slash wheat production. Scientists pinpointed the mutation that allows bubonic plague bacteria to persist in fleas—a relatively recent adaptation that enabled it to wreak havoc on rats and humans worldwide. Boredom is bad for our health, but being bored can be a spur for curiosity and innovation. A chemical cocktail that mimics pheromones may be the key to a better bedbug trap.

Citing scientific evidence, the FDA recommended easing the ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Global warming appears to be kickstarting a massive coral bleaching event. The rainbow springs of Yellowstone National Park were once bright blue—that is, until human tourists started throwing in pennies and trash with bacteria on them.

Survival rates for high-risk heart patients at a teaching hospital jumped when cardiologists were out of town. Our Milky Way galaxy has a new neighbor: the dwarf galaxy KKs 3. Reading from a backlit screen before bed makes for a horrible night’s sleep. Crows can understand analogies.