Life
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AnimalsThe U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight
After a decade of argument, Oxitec pits genetically modified mosquitoes against Florida’s spreaders of dengue and Zika.
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AnimalsElephants are dying in droves in Botswana. Scientists don’t know why
Some type of pathogen may be behind the recent deaths of 39 elephants, a new wave that follows 350 deaths last summer.
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NeuroscienceBrain implants turn imagined handwriting into text on a screen
A person who was paralyzed from the neck down was able to communicate, thanks to brain-to-text technology.
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NeuroscienceScientists remotely controlled the social behavior of mice with light
New devices — worn as headsets and backpacks — rely on optogenetics, in which bursts of light toggle neurons, to control mouse brain activity.
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AnimalsA common antibiotic slows a mysterious coral disease
Applying the antibiotic amoxicillin to infected lesions halted tissue death in corals for at least 11 months after treatment.
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NeuroscienceMild zaps to the brain can boost a pain-relieving placebo effect
By sending electric current into the brain, scientists can enhance the pain-relieving placebo effect and dampen the pain-inducing nocebo effect.
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PaleontologyT. rex’s incredible biting force came from its stiff lower jaw
T. rex could generate incredibly strong bite forces thanks to a boomerang-shaped bone that stiffened the lower jaw, a new analysis suggests.
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MicrobesThese climate-friendly microbes recycle carbon without producing methane
A newly discovered group of single-celled archaea break down decaying plants without adding the greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere.
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LifeSome viruses thwart bacterial defenses with a unique genetic alphabet
DNA has four building blocks: A, C, T and G. But some bacteriophages swap A for Z, and scientists have figured out how and why they do it.
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AgricultureNanoscale nutrients can protect plants from fungal diseases
Applied to the shoots, nutrients served in tiny metallic packages are absorbed more efficiently, strengthening plants’ defenses against fungal attack.
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EcosystemsWild donkeys and horses engineer water holes that help other species
Dozens of animals and even some plants in the American Southwest take advantage of water-filled holes dug by these nonnative equids.
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AnimalsMantis shrimp start practicing their punches at just 9 days old
The fastest punches in the animal kingdom probably belong to mantis shrimp, who begin unleashing these attacks just over a week after hatching.