From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

  1. Genetics

    Explainer: How DNA testing works

    Lots of companies will now test DNA from people and their pets. How do these gene-sequencing techniques work? We explain.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Ultrasound might become a new way to manage diabetes

    Ultrasound turns on production of the hormone insulin in mice. Someday, it might help maintain healthy blood-sugar levels in people who were recently diagnosed with diabetes.

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  3. Life

    Explainer: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

    Prokaryotes tend to be small and simple, while eukaryotes have embraced a highly organized lifestyle. These divergent approaches to life have both proved very successful.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: The benefits of phlegm, mucus and snot

    There are many types of mucus in the body. They might seem gross, but these gloppy goos are the first line of defense against infection.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What are proteins?

    In the body, proteins act as biochemical machines to carry out the work of cells.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: Taste and flavor are not the same

    What’s behind a food’s flavor? More than what we taste, it turns out.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is the vagus?

    The vagus nerve runs from the brain all through the body. It controls many basic functions, including how fast the heart beats.

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  8. Animals

    Hunting hidden salamanders with eDNA

    The Japanese clouded salamander is an elusive beast. To find a new population, three teens turned to high-tech methods.

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  9. Environment

    Restaurant diners may ingest extra pollutants

    People who dine out have higher levels of certain potentially harmful pollutants in their bodies than do people who eat home-cooked meals, new data show.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Scientists discover how norovirus hijacks the gut

    Noroviruses make people vomit, but scientists didn’t actually know why. It now turns out that those viruses cause their misery by attacking special “tuft” cells in the gut.

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  11. Genetics

    Your DNA is an open book — but can’t yet be fully read

    There are many companies that offer to read your DNA. But be prepared: They cannot yet fulfill all those promises you read in their ads.

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  12. Animals

    Orca snot leads to a whale of a science-fair project

    DNA found in the mucus of orcas suggests that even though the traits of family pods may differ, these marine mammals all appear to belong to a single species.

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