Field: Biology

Even though pain is universal and we know it happens in the brain, we've never before had a way to objectively measure its intensity.

Making plants grow on the Moon could be instrumental in helping gardens to grow greener on Earth in the face of climate change.

Current scientific consensus is that life emerged from non-living molecules in a process called abiogenesis. But if life emerged once, why not more times?

But what if you’re in your 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s? Is it “too late” to build muscle and fight sarcopenia? Here’s what the research says.

Genetic genealogy not only helps us understand where we came from, but it could also be used for tracing the origin of genetic mutations.

Our bodies crave more food if we haven’t had enough protein — especially if we’re reaching for ultraprocessed foods.

An international team of researchers have isolated and analyzed a component of melanin, which protects us from the sun.

Scientists stimulated the brains of macaque monkeys in an effort to determine which areas are responsible for driving consciousness.

MIT’s new electronic pill stimulates stomach cells to regulate hunger — showing it's possible to hack the powerful gut-brain axis.

Powered by AI and a vast trove of data, the Human Immunome Project aims to fully map the most complex system in the human body.

New research links the gut microbiome, an ecosystem of viruses, bacteria, and fungi, to the development of anorexia nervosa.

Self-organising networks of tiny silver wires appear to learn and remember in much the same way as the thinking hardware in our heads.

The World Mosquito Project’s plan is to introduce bacteria-carrying mosquitoes to stop the spread of dengue.

A team of Stanford and MIT researchers have engineered bacteria to create a topical tumor treatment and preventative effective in mice.

Tardigrades have been frozen, boiled, exposed to extreme doses of radiation, and remarkably still survive. How?

Ants were just as accurate as cancer-sniffing dogs. Better yet, they could be trained in minutes rather than months.

It takes around 17 years for medical research to translate into clinical practice — why not use EMR data to speed things up?

The world needs a tuberculosis vaccine, but the challenge trials that could help are impossible to run. Two new approaches look to change that.

A new peanut allergy treatment based on mRNA could potentially lead to therapies that prevent all types of allergies in people.

A sugar-powered implant that produces insulin when blood glucose levels are high could make managing diabetes easier and less painful.

Scientists are finding tumor signals in spit that could be key to developing diagnostic tests for various types of cancer

A new protein discovery may have highlighted a "switch" in brain cells that slows down inflammation and aging.

Researchers at the Harvard lab of George Church have genetically engineered E. coli resistant to viral infection.

A groundbreaking discovery on how pancreatic cancer spreads could lead to better therapies for the hard-to-treat disease.

The discovery of a new type of stem cell in deer antlers could lead to breakthroughs in human regeneration.

Many virologists are concerned that the latest bird flu outbreak could spill over to humans and cause a new human pandemic.

For the first time, scientists have created healthy, fertile mouse pups using only the DNA of two adult males.

Researchers found that patients who slept less than six hours a night were 27% more likely to have an infection.

Periodontal (gum) disease is more common in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, implicating the former in causing the latter.

We may be able to prevent chronic inflammation in multiple sclerosis patients by manipulating their gut microbiomes.

Did He Jiankui "Make People Better"? A new documentary leans toward a different narrative about gene-editing than we've heard before.

A new study of hair cell regeneration in mice could help researchers figure out how to reverse hearing loss in people.

Cancer-protective microbes support cooperative behaviour by bodily cells, but cancer-inducing microbes undermine it.

Living Carbon is ready to begin planting thousands of GMO trees engineered to pull 27% more carbon from the air.

Scientists have found diverse life forms dwelling in an abandoned, flooded uranium mine in Germany, creating an "alien" ecosystem.

Researchers have begun to study yoga's effects and are finding that it has great benefits for both mental and physical health.

A new treatment that caused the diseased kidneys of mice to regenerate might one day do the same for people.

Researchers find that, in some cases, tooth dentin can be regrown instead of needing to be replaced with man-made composite.

Bioprinted skin can now look and act so much like real skin that it could one day replace some animal testing.

New research has shown that human “mini brains” can integrate with damaged rat brains to perform functions related to sight.

Semi-living “cyborg” cells might one day do everything from deliver cancer treatments to help clean up the environment.

The human microbiome is largely influenced by our social interactions, according to the largest study to date of microbiome transmission.

A new study has identified the substance used by our white blood cells to reduce inflammation when it is no longer needed.

Jupiter's moon Io is thought to be inhospitable, but new data suggests life could exist underground, perhaps in lava tubes.

Researchers set out to find the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting.

After a monumental year of breakthroughs, scientists, investors, and CEOs share which areas of biotech they are eagerly watching this year.

Microproteins encoded in short strands of DNA reveal our recent evolutionary history, and hint at how human genetics may be changing.

Lab-grown eye cells have demonstrated an ability to communicate, a huge milestone along the path to using them to reverse blindness.

People with shingles have an approximately 80% higher risk of stroke than those without the disease, and researchers want to know why.

Biotech startup Rejuvenate Bio says it has extended the lives of elderly mice by 7% using a technique called “partial reprogramming.”

Artificial penis tissue that restored erections in injured pigs might one day do the same for people with erectile dysfunction.

Stem cell patches under development in the UK might allow surgeons to permanently repair infants congenital heart defects.

In the 1920s, the wave-particle duality of light was extended to include all material objects, from electrons to you.

UK-based company Biohm uses natural vegetative material like food waste and mushrooms to ‘grow’ insulation panels.

A microbiologist devised a quiz that would be appropriate as a final exam for college-level microbiology students. ChatGPT blew it away.

A new multiple myeloma therapy that uses an antibody to bring T cells to the cancer has shown efficacy in clinical trials.

Taking small steps to help your circadian rhythm adjust to winter could mean happier times during what are literally the darkest days.

A newly discovered species of bacteria is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye. It also contains a DNA-containing nucleus.

Researchers tracked 25,241 non-exercisers wearing accelerometers to find out of brief bursts of activity lowered their risk of dying.

To save the northern white rhino species from extinction, researchers are turning stored rhino tissue samples into sperm and egg cells.

M. leprae-infected armadillos develop enlarged, healthy livers with gene expression patterns similar to human fetal livers.

The Chroma AI's ability to design proteins with structures no one has ever seen before could revolutionize medicine.

While treatments are available for HCV-related infections, they are expensive, hard to access, and do not protect against reinfection.

Neoplants' $179 genetically engineered houseplant pulls VOCs from the air 30 times more efficiently than plants found in nature.

A new set of experiments has shown for the first time how the unique flavors of different cheeses can be linked to specific types of bacteria.

The FDA has approved Rebyota, a slurry used during fecal transplant therapy to treat recurrent C. difficile infections.

This bacteria is found only in the intestines of people with rheumatoid arthritis, and not in the intestines of healthy people.

New research is revealing how physical activity can reduce and even ward off depression, anxiety and other psychological ailments.

A psychiatrist and neuroscientists investigate how breathing affect the brain and biological markers of stress and immune function.

Though morning workouts may be optimal for circadian rhythms, afternoon exercise tends to be slightly more efficient.

Positive and negative memories are stored in different parts of the brain, raising the possibility of therapeutic memory manipulation.

An injectable gel that prevents scar formation and stimulates regeneration successfully repaired severe spinal cord injuries in mice.

A new device allowed a paralyzed patient to "speak," spelling out full sentences in real-time with an error rate of about 8%.

MCED tests are different from existing ones because they are trying to detect early-stage cancer, when there aren’t that many tumor cells.

A recent study tested how well the fungi species Cladosporium sphaerospermum blocked cosmic radiation aboard the International Space Station.

A new Yale study linking a DNA-damaging molecule in the gut to colorectal cancer may give us a way to prevent the deadly disease.

Patients wait from 30 days to over five years to receive a liver transplant in the U.S. What if the liver could regenerate itself instead?

MIT and Harvard researchers mapped out many of the cells, genes, and cellular pathways that are modified by exercise or high-fat diet.

These bizarre mollusks have the ability to regenerate their bodies and to absorb other organisms' attributes.

You are what you eat, and what your parents ate, and what their parents ate. An expert explains how the foods you eat can reprogram your genes.

To avoid one of the worst side effects of aging—bone, joint, and muscle pain—we might need to exercise a lot harder and more often.

A system for monitoring motion and muscle engagement could aid the elderly and athletes during physical rehabilitation.

Scientists observed two species of sea slug that were able to self-decapitate, survive for weeks without organs, and regenerate new bodies.

A simple breathing exercise called IMST can lower blood pressure as effectively as meds or aerobic exercise when done for five minutes a day.

A physicist explains the molecular-level processes behind crystals, stripes, and basalt columns in nature.

Not only did microbes diversify with their early modern human hosts as they traveled across the globe, they followed human evolution.

With just an incubator and some broth, researchers can grow reusable filters made of bacteria to clean up pollution and more.

Researchers identified a “building plan” that holds true for every species they looked at — except for humans.

A new review finds that 14 different cancers, including eight related to the digestive system, are increasing in people under age 50.

The parasite infects salmon and lives within the fish muscle, though scientists aren't quite sure how it breaks down nutrients for survival.

Axolotls are a model organism researchers use to study a variety of topics in biology because of their regenerative abilities.

One possible explanation of near death experiences is that our brains are flooded with a hallucinogenic, DMT.

The investigation of human remains in a suitcase can often represent a Pandora’s box, full of complicated problems.

A new multibillion-dollar federal agency was created with a goal of supporting “the next generation of moonshots for health.”

A woman in Scotland was found to feel virtually no pain and report zero trace of any anxiety or depression.

Bottlenose dolphins are extremely social animals that communicate constantly, and consistently use signature whistles for one another.

CRISPR has been used to rearrange the chromosomes of lab mice, a world’s first in mammals and a breakthrough in bioengineering.

When the body’s own biomarkers aren’t enough, researchers have begun creating their own to help fight cancer.

Digital health is attracting record levels of investment in products such as smart toilet seats, which can help millions get access to care.

A team at Penn State has developed a pulsed light technique capable of killing common food poisoning pathogens.