News
- Life
‘Nanobot’ viruses tag and round up bacteria in food and water
Viruses called phages evolved to hunt bacteria. With magnetic nanoparticles and genetic engineering, they become nanobots that work for us.
- Planetary Science
Water may have killed Mars’ magnetic field
Extra hydrogen near the Red Planet’s iron core could have shut down convection.
- Neuroscience
When tickling the brain to stimulate memory, location matters
Conflicting results regarding the benefits of brain stimulation may be explained by the precise location of electrodes.
- Anthropology
Modern chimp brains share similarities with ancient hominids
MRIs suggest certain brain folding patterns don’t mark ancient humanlike neural advances after all, raising questions about hominid brain evolution.
- Planetary Science
Venus may be home to a new kind of tectonics
Venus’ surface seems to be divided into jostling blocks of crust, defying conventional wisdom about how the surfaces of rocky planets work.
- Science & Society
Why science still can’t pinpoint a mass shooter in the making
Arguments flare over mass public shootings that remain scientifically mysterious.
- Environment
How bees defend against some controversial insecticides
Some bees have enzymes that allow them to resist toxic compounds in some neonicotinoid pesticides.
- Life
Earwigs take origami to extremes to fold their wings
Stretchy joints let earwig wings flip quickly between folded and unfurled.
- Earth
False alarms may be a necessary part of earthquake early warnings
To give enough time to take protective action, earthquake warning systems may have to issue alerts long before it’s clear how strong the quake will be.
- Health & Medicine
Male birth control pill passes a safety test
A prototype contraceptive for men safely reduced testosterone and other reproductive hormones during a month-long treatment.
- Planetary Science
5 things we’ve learned about Saturn since Cassini died
The Cassini spacecraft plunged to its death into Saturn six months ago, but the discoveries keep coming.
- Health & Medicine
How obesity makes it harder to taste
Mice that gained excessive weight on a high-fat diet also lost a quarter of their taste buds.
