News
- Plants
A nearly century-old dead date palm tree helped solve an ancestry mystery
The iconic Cape Verde date palm came from commercial trees gone feral and could provide genetic variety to boost the resilience of its tamer relatives.
- Animals
A tardigrade protein helped reduce radiation damage in mice
Mouse cells tweaked to produce the tardigrade protein incurred less DNA damage than unaltered cells — hinting at a new tool for cancer patient care.
- Agriculture
How silicon turns tomato plants into mean, green, pest-killing machines
Treated plants fight pests without the need for toxic pesticides, oozing a "larval toffee" that stunts tomato pinworms’ growth and attracts predators.
- Health & Medicine
Avoidable deaths increased in the U.S. as they dropped elsewhere
In the United States, deaths that could have been avoided rose, on average, from 2009 to 2019. That’s in contrast to European Union countries.
- Animals
Plastic ‘fossils’ help scientists reconstruct the history of bird nests
Plastic waste has let common coots reuse nests year after year. Scientists have now used the trash layers to date how old nests are.
- Health & Medicine
An mRNA cancer vaccine may offer long-term protection
A vaccine kept patients free of pancreatic cancer for years, yet new reports say the NIH is advising against mentioning mRNA tech in grants.
- Animals
Hammerhead sharks’ diets may affect if they roam or stay home
Understanding hammerhead sharks’ food preferences could aid efforts to protect the critically endangered fish.
- Animals
Gray seals may sense their own blood oxygen levels
The seals’ ability to detect the amount of oxygen in their blood may help them make diving decisions and avoid drowning.
- Neuroscience
Babies can form memories, and they do it a lot like adults
A brain scanning study of babies reveals how some of the earliest memories are made.
- Earth
Wildfires and farm fertilizer use are fueling ozone pollution
Fires and agricultural soils can rival cars and factories in emitting chemicals that lead to ozone, making it hard to meet air quality standards.
- Animals
Stinky penguin poop strikes fear into the hearts of Antarctic krill
A chemical in Adélie penguin guano may have cued krill to take evasive maneuvers in lab tests.
- Cosmology
A map of 14 million galaxies and quasars deepens a dark energy mystery
The DESI experiment shocked cosmologists with a hint that dark energy varies over time. Now, with more data, the conclusions hold up.
