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

Researchers have grown a mouse embryo in a bottle

Researchers have grown a mouse embryo outside the uterus for longer than ever before, opening up the door to learning more about how mammals grow.

B. David Zarley

Languages

Neanderthals had the capacity for human communication

Neanderthals appear to have had the capacity to hear verbal language, suggesting that modern human communication has ancient roots.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Fuel tests to begin for world’s largest fusion reactor

At the JET nuclear fusion reactor, scientists are testing a fuel that could power a $25 billion nuclear fusion device.

Kristin Houser

Archaeology

After 360,000 years, extinct cave bear's DNA is still readable

Scientists have sequenced the DNA from the ear bone of an ancient cave bear, an extinct relative of the polar and brown bears.

Teresa Carey

Meet the chess AI you might actually beat

Maia is a chess AI designed to play like you, not crush you. Predicting the most human decisions may pave the way for AI to train and work with us.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

A virus invisibility cloak makes AAV gene therapy safer

Researchers have figured out a way to cloak the AVV so it can sneak past the human immune system and deliver its gene therapy payload undetected.

Teresa Carey

CRISPR

Scientists use CRISPR to create neanderthal mini-brains in a lab

Scientists modified brain tissue from modern humans to carry a gene that once belonged to Neanderthals.

Teresa Carey

Genetics

Black-footed ferret is first cloned US endangered species

A black-footed ferret clone could inject a much-needed dose of genetic diversity into her species, which is on the brink of extinction.

Kristin Houser

Paleontology

Gators and guineafowl may help us understand how dinosaurs moved

Using x-ray 3D-imaging techniques, researchers are turning to gators and guineafowl to better understand how dinosaurs moved.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

These mutant zebrafish are growing arm bones

While studying mutant zebrafish, scientists discovered that a single genetic mutation caused the fish to start developing the beginnings of arms.

Kristin Houser

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