2,413 results
- Genetics
Atacama mummy’s deformities were unduly sensationalized
A malformed human mummy known as Ata has been sensationalized as alien. A DNA analysis helps overturn that misconception.
- Life
Readers ponder mitochondria, Neandertal diets, deep sea corals and more
Readers had questions about mitochondrial DNA, Neandertal diets, deep ocean corals and more.
- Archaeology
Ancient South Americans tasted chocolate 1,500 years before anyone else
Artifacts with traces of cacao push back the known date for when the plant was first domesticated by 1,500 years.
- 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.
- Animals
Why some mammal species don’t have descended testicles, but most do
New research studying genetic vestiges suggests that descended testicles are as ancient as the first placental mammal.
- Planetary Science
Apollo astronauts left trash, mementos and experiments on the moon
Here’s what planetary scientists are learning from the remains of Apollo outposts, and how archeologists hope to preserve it.
- Microbes
This plastic-gobbling enzyme just got an upgrade
Scientists tweaked a bacterial enzyme and made it more efficient in breaking down plastics found in polyester and plastic bottles.
- Health & Medicine
Two new books explore the science and history of the 1918 flu pandemic
One-hundred years after the Spanish flu, ‘Pandemic 1918’ and ‘Influenza’ provide a new look at the global outbreak.
- Life
Mini brains may wrinkle and fold just like ours
Brain organoids show how ridges and wrinkles may form.
- Genetics
A mutation may explain the sudden rise in birth defects from Zika
A mutation in a protein that helps Zika exit cells may play a big role in microcephaly.
- Neuroscience
Mice with a mutation linked to autism affect their littermates’ behavior
Genetically normal littermates of mutated mice behave strangely, suggesting that the social environment plays a big role in behavior.
- Genetics
New CRISPR gene editors can fix RNA and DNA one typo at a time
New gene editors can correct common typos that lead to disease.
