News
- Tech
Here’s what robots could learn from fire ants
Fire ants’ secret to success is prioritizing efficiency over fairness. Robot teams could use that strategy to work more efficiently in tight, crowded quarters.
- Tech
Children may be especially vulnerable to peer pressure from robots
Elementary school children often endorsed unanimous but inaccurate judgments made by small groups of robots.
- Oceans
Viruses may help phytoplankton make clouds — by tearing the algae apart
Sick phytoplankton shed their calcium carbonate plates more easily than their healthy counterparts, which could play a role in forming clouds.
- Health & Medicine
A resurrected gene may protect elephants from cancer
Researchers have found another gene that may play a role in explaining elephants’ cancer resistance.
- Computing
A new computer program generates eerily realistic fake videos
It’s getting harder to tell fact from fiction — even on camera.
- Life
Tiny bits of RNA can trigger pain and itchiness
Two microRNAs may shed light on the causes of nerve pain and itch.
- Animals
In the animal kingdom, what does it mean to be promiscuous?
A review of hundreds of scientific studies finds that the label “promiscuous” is applied to a surprisingly wide range of mating behaviors in animals.
- Health & Medicine
The first gene-silencing drug wins FDA approval
The FDA just approved the first drug that works via RNA interference.
- Astronomy
A faint glow found between galaxies could be a beacon for dark matter
Intracluster light may help reveal where dark matter resides within galaxy clusters.
- Health & Medicine
Pregnant women’s use of opioids is on the rise
The rate of opioid use during pregnancy more than quadrupled in 28 U.S. states, prompting physicians to call for increased screening.
- Animals
A ghost gene leaves ocean mammals vulnerable to some pesticides
Manatees, dolphins and other warm-blooded marine animals can't break down organophosphates due to genetic mutations that occurred long ago.
- Health & Medicine
A newly approved drug could be a boon for treating malaria
Tafenoquine could help prevent the recurring form of malaria, but the drug may also be dangerous for people who have a certain genetic mutation.
