Life
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Genetics
Flexible DNA computer finds square roots
Scientists design a digital circuit made of molecules that may be able to crunch a wider variety of complex math problems than previous versions.
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Life
Holding back evolution
Gene mutations that are beneficial on their own combine to slow down progress, new bacterial experiments show.
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Life
Go deep, small worm
A discovery in a South African mine suggests life can thrive far below the surface.
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Life
Life
Ancient weirdos roamed the seas longer than thought, plus clever turtle embryos and da Vinci patterns in trees in this week’s news.
By Science News -
Life
Fish ignore alarming noises in acidifying seawater
Something about changing ocean chemistry could make young clownfish behave oddly around normally alarming sounds.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Mellow corals beat the heat
Species that overreact to distress signals from algae are more likely to succumb to warming.
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Life
Genes & Cells
Gene therapy for dogs, plus an HIV gatekeeper and new neurons from skin in this week’s news.
By Science News -
Life
Life
A look at killer dolphins, plus hibernating plankton, growing mammal brains and more in this week’s news.
By Science News -
Life
Hey kitty, dogs drink like cats
High-speed video shows that canines don’t simply scoop up water, they toss it into their mouths just like their feline frenemies.
By Susan Milius -
Physics
Gators go a-courtin’ with fancy physics
Their subsonic mating bellows generate Faraday waves, a phenomenon almost never seen outside the lab.
By Devin Powell -
Life
Microbes may sky jump to new hosts
The role of microbes in cloud formation and precipitation may not be an accident of chemistry so much as an evolutionary adaptation by certain bacteria and other nonsentient beings, a scientist posited at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
By Janet Raloff -
Life
Tarantulas shoot silk from their feet
The unique ability may give the heavy spiders a better grip and prevent deadly falls.
By Susan Milius