Uncategorized
- Genetics
An extinct rat shows CRISPR’s limits for resurrecting species
Scientists recovered most of the Christmas Island rat’s genome. But the missing genes signal a problem for using gene editing to de-extinct species.
- Animals
Mirror beetles’ shiny bodies may not act as camouflage after all
Hundreds of handmade clay nubbins test the notion that a beetle’s metallic high gloss could confound predators. Birds pecked the lovely idea to death.
- Animals
Culturally prized mountain goats may be vanishing from Indigenous land in Canada
As fewer mountain goats are spotted along British Columbia’s central coast, First Nations people team up with biologists to assess the population.
- Paleontology
Scientists are arguing over the identity of a fossilized 10-armed creature
An ancient cephalopod fossil may be the oldest ancestor of octopuses, but the interpretation hinges on the identification of one feature.
- Astronomy
A new image captures enormous gas rings encircling an aging red star
The rings, seen for the first time, provide insight into how giant stars lose mass and seed the cosmos with elements.
- Physics
Russia’s war in Ukraine raises nuclear risks, physicists warn
Experts flag the potential for accidents at seized nuclear sites as well as the increased dangers of accidental nuclear warfare.
- Oceans
Some deep-sea octopuses aren’t the long-haul moms scientists thought they were
Off California’s coast, some octopuses lay eggs in the warmer water of geothermal springs in the “Octopus Garden,” speeding up their development.
- Animals
This newfound tarantula is the first known to make its home in bamboo
Bamboo stems provide the spider with ready-made burrows and nests, but the arachnid must rely on other animals or natural forces to gain entry.
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Why aren’t we listening to what science is telling us?
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how the last century of climate science has mapped our understanding of today's climate crisis and solutions.
- Life
Some E. coli set off viral grenades inside nearby bacteria
A bacterial toxin called colibactin awakens dormant viruses embedded in bacterial DNA, but its ecological role is still unknown.
- Astronomy
Astronomers may not have found a sign of the universe’s first stars after all
A new study of radio waves from early in the universe’s history finds no hint of the “cosmic dawn” claimed by an earlier study.
