Health & Medicine
He made beer that’s also a vaccine. Now controversy is brewing
An NIH scientist’s maverick approach reveals legal, ethical, moral, scientific and social challenges to developing potentially life-saving vaccines.
Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Life
- Tech
Mosquitoes use it to suck blood. Researchers used it to 3-D print
A mosquito proboscis repurposed as a 3-D printing nozzle can print filaments around 20 micrometers wide, half the width of a fine human hair.
- Life
How these strange cells may explain the origin of complex life
The tiny pantheon known as the Asgard archaea bear traits that hint at how plants, animals and fungi emerged on Earth.
- Animals
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.
- Life
From viruses to elephants, nature thrives on tiled patterns
A compilation of 100 examples of biological tilings shows how repeated natural motifs enhance strength, flexibility and other key functions.
- Animals
Trucked-in honeybees may edge out bigger bumblebee foragers
The finding could guide beekeepers to keep hives out of most vulnerable areas of the Irish heathlands.
- Psychology
Some irritability is normal. Here’s when it’s not
Irritability is a normal response to frustrations, but it can sometimes signal an underlying mental health disorder, like depression or anxiety.
- Animals
Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought
Lamniform sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks are famous for their size. The first such giants evolved 15 million years earlier than thought.
- Anthropology
Big Neandertal noses weren’t made for cold
Tiny cameras threaded inside a Neandertal skull provide evidence that their big noses were not an adaptation to cold climates.
- Animals
How male seahorses tap into their mothering side
By studying the genes responsible for the seahorse’s brood pouch, researchers uncovered a new route to “motherhood.”
