News

Genetics

Epigenetic marks may help assess toxic exposure risk — someday

Exposure to things in the environment may change chemical tags on DNA and proteins, but it’s still unclear how to use that data to assess health risks.

Life

Early RNA may have used isolation strategy to defeat useless mutants

Temporary barriers help RNA escape shorter, faster-replicating parasites

Ecosystems

Losing tropical forest might raise risks of human skin ulcers, deformed bones

Bacteria that cause Buruli ulcer in people flourish with tropical deforestation.

Neuroscience

Brain waves show promise against Alzheimer’s protein in mice

Flickers of light induce brain waves that wash amyloid-beta out of the brain, mouse study suggests.

Science & Society

Virtual reality raises real risk of motion sickness

New research confirms anecdotal reports that virtual reality headsets can cause motion sickness, and may affect women more than men.

Tech

Zippy new jumping bot catches air again and again

Leaping robot can bounce from floor to wall, parkour-style, and, like a bush baby, uses a “super-crouch” to get extra oomph out of jumps.

Animals

First spider superdads discovered

Male spiders first known to give up solitary life for offspring care, often as a single parent.

Quantum Physics

Cosmic test confirms quantum weirdness

Physicists used starlight to perform a cosmic Bell test.

Astronomy

Stellar vomiting produces dark galaxies, simulations suggest

Dark galaxies might owe their existence to multiple rounds of prolific star birth and death that eject gas and stretch out their homes, new simulations suggest.

Neuroscience

Gut microbe mix may spark Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease symptoms might be driven by gut microbes

Physics

Despite lack of free electrons, bismuth superconducts

Bismuth conducts electricity with no resistance at temperatures near absolute zero, despite lack of mobile electrons.

Chemistry

Enzyme forges carbon-silicon bonds with a little human help

A few tweaks to an enzyme help it link carbon to silicon — a match not found in nature.