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

Clean Energy

Transparent solar windows could be coming soon

Solar power is abundant, but the dark panels pose a design problem. A new generation of transparent solar panels could make house-powering windows and phone screens a reality.

B. David Zarley

Paleontology

Ice Age wolf mummy discovered almost 100% intact

An almost perfectly preserved wolf mummy discovered in the Canadian tundra is giving researchers a glimpse into the life of an ancient wolf.

Kristin Houser

Physicists are starting to harness the power of deepfakes

Generative adversarial networks are the scary AI producing deepfakes. But they have other uses too, and physicists are starting to harness their power.

B. David Zarley

Just how are deepfakes made, anyway?

Capable of creating incredibly realistic false data — most infamously of famous people — deepfakes are a powerful tool.

B. David Zarley

3D Printing

This may be the 3D-printed submarine of the future

Using unique construction techniques, this 3D-printed submarine may set the pace for the building of large AUVs to come.

B. David Zarley

CRISPR

CRISPR's big year: top breakthroughs of 2020

2020 was a big year for the gene-editing tool CRISPR. It was used to cure disease, edit DNA in a human's eye, and even gene-edit pigs to grow suitable organs to transplant into humans.

Teresa Carey

Psychology

Want better science? Learn how to lie (with magic).

Some experiment designs need to deceive. These former magicians have some advice.

B. David Zarley

Physics

New atomic clock is the most precise ever created

MIT researchers have created a new kind of atomic clock that exploits quantum entanglement to keep time more precisely.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

Genetically modified pigs get green light from FDA

The FDA has approved Revivicor’s genetically engineered GalSafe pigs for use as food or medical products — a first for genetically modified animals.

Kristin Houser

Paleontology

This digital dinosaur brain has some “quite surprising” insights

The Bristol dinosaur is like a mini-Brontosaurus, a four-legged plant eater. Or so we thought; a new digital dinosaur brain may change what we know about the dino.

B. David Zarley

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