Uncategorized
- Science & Society
Why a warrant to search GEDmatch’s genetic data has sparked privacy concerns
A search warrant issued by a state judge in Florida gives police access to DNA profiles of over a million Americans in a public genealogy database.
- Animals
Flipping a molecular switch can turn warrior ants into foragers
Toggling one protein soon after hatching makes Florida carpenter ants turn from fighting to hunting for food.
- Animals
Power lines may mess with honeybees’ behavior and ability to learn
Under power lines, honeybees might suffer neurological effects from exposure to electromagnetic fields.
- Animals
Silver-backed chevrotains have been ‘rediscovered’ by science after 29 years
With help from Vietnamese villagers, researchers captured photos of a species of deerlike ungulate thought lost to science nearly three decades ago.
- Artificial Intelligence
A will to survive might take AI to the next level
Neuroscientists argue that the biological principle of homeostasis will lead to improved, “feeling” robots.
- Health & Medicine
Vitamin E acetate is a culprit in the deadly vaping outbreak, the CDC says
Researchers detected vitamin E oil in all samples of lung fluid from 29 patients suffering from lung injuries tied to e-cigarettes.
- Earth
Geology, not CO2, controlled monsoon intensity in Asia’s ancient past
For millions of years, shifting geologic plates — not carbon dioxide levels —held the most sway over the intensity of Asia’s seasonal winds and rains.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s immune system and microbiome may help predict premature birth
Analyzing patients’ immune systems, microbiomes and more, researchers find signals to pinpoint and halt premature labor.
- Humans
The medieval Catholic Church may have helped spark Western individualism
Early Catholic Church decrees transformed families and may help explain why Western societies today tend to be individualistic and nonconformist.
- Physics
Trapping atoms in a laser beam offers a new way to measure gravity
A new type of experiment to measure the strength of Earth’s gravity uses atoms suspended in light rather than free-falling atoms.
- Space
Light leaking from a distant galaxy hints at a cosmic makeover’s origins
Ultraviolet light slips through a hole in a distant galaxy’s gas. Older galaxies might have used the trick to ionize most of the universe’s hydrogen.
- Life
Self-destructing mitochondria may leave some brain cells vulnerable to ALS
Mitochondria that appear to dismantle themselves in certain brain cells may be a first step toward ALS, a mouse study suggests.
