Humans

Genetics

Scientists created human egg cells from skin cells

The technique could someday help people without reproductive cells of their own have children. But much more research is needed.

Brain

Big moments can help you remember little things, too

Emotional events help solidify memories. Scientists think this could someday help students study better or aid recovery of trauma survivors.

Health & Medicine

A little shape-up helps these pimple patches get a grip

These zit patches use some innovative geometry to anchor onto skin. This solves one problem that’s hindered other uses of microneedles for drug delivery.

Animals

Ants are better team players than people [COMIC]

For ants, teamwork makes the dream work. For humans, teamwork can be a trip-up.

Psychology

Listening to slightly different sounds in each ear may boost focus, teen finds

While “binaural beats” may boost attention, his research shows video game music is distracting.

Tech

A modified glue gun squirts a material to help heal broken bones

The handheld printer might someday apply bone-repair patches directly onto fractures — complete with antibiotics to prevent infection.

Humans

This linguist has invented over 20 languages

Margaret Ransdell-Green draws on her expertise in linguistics and music to create new, fictional languages — and sings in them, too.

Humans

Smoke-dried mummies found in Southeast Asia are the oldest known

The corpses had been slow-dried over fires 12,000 years ago — millennia before Egyptians began mummifying their dead.

Science & Society

Behold the world’s weirdest library — which might save your life

This bizarre collection of “standard reference materials” help ensure the safety of waterways, buildings, medicines, foods and much more.

Microbes

Thank microbes for chocolate’s tasty flavors

Cocoa beans matter, but yeast and bacteria may be the real secret to fine chocolate flavor.

Health & Medicine

What are vitamins?

Humans need 13 different vitamins to stay healthy. Most come from the food we eat. Others are made in our bodies.

Archaeology

This ancient Siberian ice mummy had intricate tattoos

The 2,000-year-old woman wears ink of prowling tigers and a fantastical griffin-like beast. Her tattoos were inked by two artists — a beginner and an expert.