All Stories
- Materials Science
Jurassic Park’s amber-preserved dino DNA is now inspiring a way to store data
DNA is capable of encoding all sorts of data. Storing it in an amberlike material may keep that information safe for nearly forever.
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Striving to break the global grip of malnutrition
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the quest for solutions in challenges such as childhood malnutrition, Andean bear conservation and assessing AI’s cognition.
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‘Space hurricanes’ churn at both of Earth’s magnetic poles
The southern hemisphere’s ionosphere experiences about 23 space hurricanes per year, which is on par with the northern hemisphere.
- Humans
World record speeds for two Olympics events have fallen over time. We can go faster
The human body can go faster in the 100-meter dash and the 50-meter freestyle. But to reach full potential, our technique must be perfect.
- Space
A Dune-inspired spacesuit turns astronaut pee into drinking water
The spacesuit design collects urine, filters it, adds electrolytes and stores the cleaned water for the astronaut to drink.
- Health & Medicine
Bird flu has been invading the brains of mammals. Here’s why
Although H5N1 and its relatives can cause mild disease in some animals, these viruses are more likely to infect brain tissue than other types of flu.
- Genetics
Freeze-drying turned a woolly mammoth’s DNA into 3-D ‘chromoglass’
A new technique for probing the 3-D structure of ancient DNA may help scientists learn how extinct animals functioned, not just what they looked like.
- Environment
Landfills belch toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into the air
An analysis of samples from three Florida landfills shows that landfill gas can carry more PFAS than the liquid that leaches from the waste.
- Health & Medicine
Breastfeeding should take a toll on bones. A brain hormone may protect them
The hormone CCN3 improves bone strength even as breastfeeding saps bones of calcium, a study in mice shows.
- Astronomy
A middleweight black hole has been spotted for the first time in our galaxy
The rare find, discovered in the star cluster Omega Centauri, could offer clues to how black holes and galaxies evolve.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI’s understanding and reasoning skills can’t be assessed by current tests
Assessing whether large language models — including the one that powers ChatGPT — have humanlike cognitive abilities will require better tests.
