Science

Side by side of mouse embryos. The one on the left appears to be developing normally, but the one on the right has an extra pair of legs.

How turning off one gene causes mice to grow 6 legs

A study of embryo development in mice led to the creation of a mutant mouse fetus with an extra pair of legs in place of genitals.

Kristin Houser

a rendering of three massive silver containers with "Ark" written on them

Food

This startup is trying to solve lab-grown meat’s biggest problem

A biotech startup has developed a new kind of bioreactor that could help increase cultivated meat production.

Kristin Houser

A man in a suit stands next to a robotic arm with computer-brain interfaces on a stage under blue lighting.

Big Tech

In a future with brain-computer interfaces like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, we may need to rethink freedom of thought

In a future with more “mind reading,” thanks to computer-brain interfaces, we may need to rethink freedom of thought.

Parker Crutchfield

rows of black rock with the gloved hands of a scientist in the background

Planet Earth

Record-breaking amount of Earth’s mantle drilled out of ocean floor

Scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution have retrieved “a staggering” amount of mantle rock from below the ocean floor.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Sound waves can trigger torpor-like state in mice and rats

Ultrasound stimulation triggers a torpor-like state in animals, suggesting a noninvasive way to put people into the state.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

The first 10 minutes of sleep can unlock your creative potential

According to prior research, the first ten minutes of sleep, called N1, can provide a creative boost when it comes to solving problems.

Ross Pomeroy

Engineering

Graphene is a Nobel Prize-winning “wonder material.” Graphyne might replace it.

A two-dimensional material made entirely of carbon called graphene won the Nobel Prize in 2010. Graphyne might be even better.

Sachin Rawat

Biology

Did life evolve more than once? Researchers are closing in on an answer

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?

Jordi Paps

Genetics

We’re analysing DNA from ancient and modern humans to create a “family tree of everyone”

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

Anthony Wilder Wohns and Yan Wong

Biology

Discovery finally uncovers how melanin blocks UV

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

B. David Zarley

Food

A banana that doesn’t go bad so fast approved by the Philippines

Billions of bananas are wasted every year, but that may change soon.

Sachin Rawat

Planet Earth

Supercomputers revealed giant “pillars of heat” funnelling diamonds upwards from deep within Earth

Understanding Earth’s internal history can be used to target mineral reserves – not only diamonds, but also crucial minerals.

Nicolas Flament and Ömer F. Bodur

Biology

A new organelle has been found in cells

Researchers have discovered a new organelle in the guts of fruit flies.

B. David Zarley

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