Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Readers wrangle with definition of ‘species’
Readers asked about the definition of "species," a new atomic clock and how a neutron star collision produces heavy elements.
- Materials Science
This artificial cartilage gets its strength from the stuff in bulletproof vests
One of the key ingredients in this artificial cartilage is a nanoversion of the synthetic fiber in body armor.
- Animals
Why some birds of paradise have ultrablack feathers
Birds of paradise have superblack feathers because of tilted, spiky microscopic features in their feathers.
- Neuroscience
Website invites you to probe a 3-D human brain
Getting up close to the human brain is easy with BrainFacts.org’s interactive organ.
- Genetics
CRISPR gene editor could spark immune reaction in people
Immune reactions could shut down CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.
- Climate
Warming ocean water is turning 99 percent of these sea turtles female
Green sea turtle populations in part of the Great Barrier Reef are becoming increasingly female due to higher ocean temperatures.
- Microbes
New pill tracks gases through your gut
Swallowing these pill-sized sensors could give new insight into what’s going on in your gut.
- Animals
Blowflies use drool to keep their cool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then reswallow.
- Life
A key virus fighter is implicated in pregnancy woes
In mice, activating a key component of the body’s antiviral machinery in response to a Zika infection can cause harm to developing fetuses.
- Anthropology
‘Laid-back’ bonobos take a shine to belligerents
Unlike people, these apes gravitate toward those who are unhelpful.
- Oceans
Corals are severely bleaching five times as often as in 1980
Corals are now bleaching more frequently and severely than they were in the early 1980s.
- Microbes
These disease-fighting bacteria produce echoes detectable by ultrasound
Ultrasound can help keep tabs on genetically modified bacteria to better fight disease inside the body.
