From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- Microbes
Bacteria give some cheeses their distinct flavors
Linking types of bacteria to specific flavors could help cheesemakers tweak their products — or even develop new cheese flavor.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Rubisco
Rubisco is a key protein in the process of photosynthesis, which feeds plants — and, in turn, us.
- Animals
How can Baby Yoda be 50 years old?
Animals with wings, big bodies or other protections from predators are more likely to evolve long lifespans.
- Computing
Sleep helps AI models learn new things without forgetting old ones
Breaks in training meant to mimic human sleep helped artificial intelligence learn multiple tasks.
- Animals
Prairie voles can couple up even without the ‘love hormone’
Scientists thought the chemical oxytocin was required to make prairie voles mate. They were wrong.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: Why it’s easier to get sick in the winter
Low humidity helps viruses survive, and cold weather blunts some of the body’s immune responses — making colds and other viral infections more likely.
- Brain
The pandemic prematurely aged teens’ brains
A small study showed certain structural changes that appeared three to four years early. Normally, premature aging of the brain is not a good sign.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Metamorphosis
Animals that go through metamorphosis look very different as adults than they did as kids.
- Humans
When it comes to dance, it’s all about the bass
During a concert, people danced more when they were bathed in sounds that were too low for their ears to hear.
- Brain
Some screen time may aid kids’ recovery from concussions
A few hours a day on digital devices may actually aid recovery by connecting kids with friends and giving their brains some stimulation.
- Animals
This parasite makes wolves more likely to become leaders
Gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions. This makes them more likely to become pack leaders or strike out on their own.
- Environment
Microplastic pollution aids viruses and prolongs their infectivity
The tiny plastic bits give these germs safe havens. That protection seems to increase as the plastic ages and breaks into ever smaller pieces.
