Life

  1. 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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  2. 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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  3. Life

    Go deep, small worm

    A discovery in a South African mine suggests life can thrive far below the surface.

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  4. 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.

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  5. Life

    Fish ignore alarming noises in acidifying seawater

    Something about changing ocean chemistry could make young clownfish behave oddly around normally alarming sounds.

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  6. 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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  7. Life

    Genes & Cells

    Gene therapy for dogs, plus an HIV gatekeeper and new neurons from skin in this week’s news.

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  8. Life

    Life

    A look at killer dolphins, plus hibernating plankton, growing mammal brains and more in this week’s news.

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  9. 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.

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  10. Physics

    Gators go a-courtin’ with fancy physics

    Their subsonic mating bellows generate Faraday waves, a phenomenon almost never seen outside the lab.

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  11. 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.

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  12. Life

    Tarantulas shoot silk from their feet

    The unique ability may give the heavy spiders a better grip and prevent deadly falls.

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