News
- Genetics
Editing human germline cells sparks ethics debate
Human gene editing experiments raise scientific and societal questions.
- Chemistry
Bacteria staining method has long been misexplained
New research upends what scientists know about a classic lab technique, called gram staining, used for more than a century to characterized and classify bacteria.
- Microbes
Possible nearest living relatives to complex life found in seafloor mud
New phylum of sea-bottom archaea microbes could be closest living relatives yet found to the eukaryote domain of complex life that includes people.
- Neuroscience
Stimulating nerve cells stretches time between thinking, doing
A head zap can stretch the time between intention and action.
- Chemistry
Sugar-cleaving molecule raises hope for universal blood
An engineered enzyme can quickly slice and dice some A and B markers from blood cells, bringing researchers closer to creating universal blood.
- Genetics
Gene therapy for blindness dims a bit
Gene therapy improves vision temporarily but can’t save sight.
- Physics
Tiny particles propel themselves upstream
Light-activated, human-made particles can align themselves with the flow of a fluid and swim upstream.
- Neuroscience
Zipping to Mars could badly zap brain nerve cells
Charged particles like the ones astronauts might encounter wallop the brain, mouse study suggests.
- Physics
Explanation for G’s imprecision stumbles
A surprising new result seems to suggest that subtle changes in Earth’s rotation rate could account for physicists’ difficulty in measuring Newton’s gravitational constant. But some confusion with dates appears to derail the finding.
- Genetics
DNA disorganization linked to aging
Changes in the way that DNA is tightly packed in cells leads to mayhem that promotes the aging process.
- Paleontology
This dinosaur’s ride may have been a glide
A new dino called Yi qi may have taken to the skies with wings akin to those of pterosaurs and flying squirrels.
- Earth
Cosmic rays illuminate lightning
Radio waves emitted by particles zipping through thunderstorms allow physicists to probe thunderclouds and, perhaps eventually, learn what triggers lightning strikes.
