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 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

Oceans

Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage

An MIT team is hoping to fortify coastlines with “architected” reefs engineered to mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office

Medicine

Monkeys’ alcohol consumption drops 50% after hormone therapy

Heavy-drinking monkeys cut their alcohol consumption by 50% after researchers treated them with a hormone called “FGF21.”

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

Researchers can predict rats’ behavior by reading their brains

A team at the University of Oregon have decoded the patterns of brain activity to predict basic actions in mice.

Teresa Carey

Biology

“BioDome” triggers near-complete limb regeneration in frogs

A new limb regeneration treatment allowed adult African clawed frogs to regrow near-complete functional legs following amputation.

Kristin Houser

Drugs

Morning glories may be a source of new psychedelics and medicines

Researchers have found that the symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a morning glory holds the potential for new psychedelic compounds and medicines.

B. David Zarley

Brain

Here is how your brain understands one voice in a crowd

Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered fresh insight into how the brain might deliberately hear one speaker while shutting out or ignoring another.

Teresa Carey

Outer Space

Startup will send prized artifacts to the International Space Station

Uplift Aerospace will transport valuable goods to the ISS and house them in their Constellation Vault starting this year.

Teresa Carey

Food

Smart food packaging keeps food fresh and reduces waste

A new "smart" type of food packaging promises to eliminate food poisoning by emitting chemicals that reduce harmful bacteria like E.coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, allowing meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables to last longer.

Teresa Carey

Animals

What the ancient, alien jellyfish can tell us about the human brain

The jellyfish nervous system, revealed by glowing genes, may help unlock the secrets of how our own brain evolved.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

Would we still see ourselves as “human” if other hominin species hadn’t gone extinct?

It’s all well and good to discuss how our humanity evolved – but what even is humanity?

Nicholas R. Longrich

Biology

Dead bodies keep moving for more than a year after death, study finds

Australian scientists found that bodies kept moving for 17 months after being pronounced dead.

Mike Colagrossi

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