Life
- Materials Science
Analyze This: Algae behind blue-glowing waves light up a new device
Some algae glow blue when they experience forces. Held in transparent plastic, they now make devices light up in response to gentle pushes and tugs.
- Archaeology
Carvings on Australia’s boab trees reveal a people’s lost history
Archaeologists and an Aboriginal family are working together to find and document a First Nations group’s lost ties to the land.
- 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.
- Animals
A love of small mammals drives this scientist
Alexis Mychajliw’s science is driven by her love of animals. She now looks to tar pits and fossilized poop to understand ancient ecosystems.
- 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.
- Environment
Protecting forests may help head off future pandemics
Hungry bats are more likely to shed harmful viruses to people or livestock when they spread out to hunt food. Conserving forests may limit this risk.
- 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
Bumblebees go out of their way to play
Young bumblebees roll wooden balls and go out of their way to do so. This suggests they play like other animals do.
