News
- Genetics
Water bears are genetic mash-ups
Drying out may help tardigrades soak up new DNA, which in turn aids the water bears in withstanding stress.
- Physics
Final chapter published in decades-long Gravity Probe B project
It took more than 50 years, but an experiment testing general relativity has finally come to a close.
By Andrew Grant - Microbes
Gut microbes signal when dinner is done
Helpful E. coli bacteria that live in the guts of animals produce proteins that can decrease an animal’s appetite only 20 minutes after receiving nutrients
- Earth
Don’t flip out: Earth’s magnetic poles aren’t about to switch
Earth’s waning magnetic field is returning to its long-term average, not heading toward a catastrophic magnetic reversal, new lava analysis suggests.
- Genetics
Mosquitoes engineered to zap ability to carry malaria
Researchers have created a gene drive that prevents mosquitoes from carrying malaria.
- Climate
Thinning ice leads to winter warming in the Arctic
Thinning Arctic sea ice could boost heat-trapping water vapor in the air during autumn and winter, leading to more ice loss.
- Animals
How to see with eyes made of rock
Tiny mollusk eyes in chiton armor can pick up rough images.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
A good diet for you may be bad for me
Eating the same foods can produce very different reactions in people.
- Health & Medicine
Engineered vocal cords show promise in animal tests
Lab-grown vocal cord tissue could lead the way to better treatments for people with vocal problems
- Psychology
Culture shapes sense of fairness
Culture shapes kids’ sense of fairness, especially when they get the short end of the stick.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Ponds and their toads cured of dreaded disease
Treating both tadpoles and their ponds for infection by deadly Bd chytrid fungus lets midwife toads go wild again.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
When selenium is scarce, brain battles testes for it
In competition for selenium, testes draw the nutrient away from the brain.