Life
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LifeAlzheimer’s targets brain cells that help people stay awake
Nerve cells in the brain that are tied to wakefulness are destroyed in people with Alzheimer’s, a finding that may refocus dementia research.
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LifeCRISPR enters its first human clinical trials
The gene editor will be used in lab dishes in cancer and blood disorder trials, and to directly edit a gene in human eyes in a blindness therapy test.
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LifeA mussel poop diet could fuel invasive carp’s spread across Lake Michigan
Asian carp, just a human-made waterway away from reaching Lake Michigan, could live in much more of the lake than previously thought.
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HumansEven without concussions, just one football season may damage players’ brains
A group of college football players underwent brain scans after a season of play. The results suggest the sport could impact neural signaling.
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NeurosciencePlants don’t have feelings and aren’t conscious, a biologist argues
The rise of the field of “plant neurobiology” has this scientist and his colleagues pushing back.
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LifeHow these tiny insect larvae leap without legs
High-speed filming reveals how a blob of an insect can leap more efficiently than it crawls.
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LifeWhy people with celiac disease suffer so soon after eating gluten
In people with celiac disease, some T cells release immune chemicals within hours of encountering gluten, triggering the fast onset of symptoms.
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ChemistryA fungus makes a chemical that neutralizes the stench of skunk spray
A compound produced by fungi reacts with skunk spray to form residues that aren’t offensive to the nose and can be more easily washed away.
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EarthDecades of dumping acid suggest acid rain may make trees thirstier
Acidified soil loses calcium, which can affect trees’ ability to hang on to water.
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AnimalsThere’s more to pufferfish than that goofy spiked balloon
Three odd things about pufferfishes: how they mate, how they bite and what’s up with no fish scales?
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LifeMonkeys can use basic logic to decipher the order of items in a list
Rhesus macaque monkeys don’t need rewards to learn and remember how items are ranked in a list, a mental feat that may prove handy in the wild.
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Health & MedicineA new study challenges the idea that the placenta has a microbiome
A large study of more than 500 women finds little evidence of microbes in the placenta, contrary to previous reports on the placental microbiome.