Life
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, researchers treated chronic pain with electricity
In 1971, doctors eased chronic pain by sending electrical impulses to the spinal cord. Fifty years later, improved techniques help paralyzed people walk.
- Life
Two new books investigate why it’s so hard to define life
For centuries, scientists have struggled to define what it means to be alive. ‘What Is Life?’ and ‘Life’s Edge’ explore the question.
- Earth
Phosphorus for Earth’s earliest life may have been forged by lightning
Lightning strikes can supply one of life’s essential elements, long thought to be delivered by meteorites billions of years ago.
- Health & Medicine
A deadly fungus behind hospital outbreaks was found in nature for the first time
Learning where the fungus Candida auris thrives in nature could help reveal why this yeast is dangerous to humans.
- Paleontology
An ancient hippo-sized reptile may have been surprisingly agile
The skull of an Anteosaurus, a hefty reptile with a large snout, hints that it may have moved fast for its day.
- Animals
Bee larvae drum with their butts, which may confuse predatory wasps
Dual percussion instruments — one on the head, the other on the rear — give mason bee larvae a peculiar musical gift that may be a tool for survival.
- Health & Medicine
The latest Ebola outbreak may have started with someone infected years ago
Rather than stemming from a virus that jumped from an animal to a person, this outbreak might have originated from someone who had a dormant virus.
- Animals
Cone snail venom may trick mate-seeking worms into becoming meals
Cone snail venom contains worm pheromone mimics, suggesting the chemicals may be used to lure worms during hunting.
- Microbes
Archaea microbes fold, twist and contort their DNA in extreme ways
Single-celled archaea open and close their Slinky-like genetic material in a clamshell motion, possibly providing easy access to their genes.
- Animals
A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species
As experts piece together a fuller picture of the scale of damage to wildlife, more than 500 species may need to be listed as endangered.
- Animals
A sea slug’s detached head can crawl around and grow a whole new body
Chopped-up planarians regrow whole bodies from bits and pieces. But a sea slug head can regrow fancier organs such as hearts.
- Animals
Delve into the history of the fight for Earth’s endangered creatures
The new book ‘Beloved Beasts’ chronicles past conservation efforts as a movement and a science, and explores how to keep striding forward.
