Humans
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BrainUnderstanding body clocks brings three a Nobel Prize
Three American men will share this year’s Nobel prize for physiology or medicine. The award recognizes their contributions to understanding the workings of the body’s biological clock.
By Tina Hesman Saey and Aimee Cunningham -
AnimalsScientists Say: Dung
This word is used to refer to animal poop. You know, manure. Crap. Feces.
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ArchaeologyClay reveals secrets of China’s mysterious terra-cotta army
Production of the famous terra-cotta troops found in ancient Chinese emperor’s tomb was made possible by a specialized system of clay manufacturing.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsCool Jobs: Puzzling over proteins to study life and death
Scientists are using proteins to understand dinosaur family trees, to fight malnutrition with a peanut-butter mix in Africa and to make “Google maps” of human cells.
By Bryn Nelson -
ComputingVideo games level up life skills
A new study shows that playing video games can sharpen important life skills, including communication, adaptability and resourcefulness.
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GeneticsGenes may predict how well the flu vaccine will work in young people
The activity of nine genes predicted how well people 35 and under would respond to the flu vaccine.
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Health & MedicineTiny spongelike machines sop up blood sugar
Diabetes disrupts the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels. So researchers invented a tiny plastic machine that could do the job.
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PsychologyWarnings may help flag fake news, but they also backfire
Warning that a news story may be false can help people avoid being duped by hoaxes — but not as much as you might think, according to a new study.
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Health & MedicineThe five-second rule: Designing an experiment
Is it true that food is still clean if it’s picked up off the floor before five seconds have passed? To find out, we designed an experiment to give us data.
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Health & MedicineThe five-second rule: Growing germs for science
Is it true that food dropped on the floor and picked up after five seconds is clean? To find out, we’re building an incubator and allowing any hitchhiking germs to grow.
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Health & MedicineThe five-second rule: Myth busted?
We’ve done an experiment to test the five-second rule. Now it’s time to analyze the data. Be forewarned: They’re not appetizing.
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Health & MedicineThe five-second rule: Microbes can’t count
A good scientific study compares results to what other scientists have done. These scientists have all debunked the five-second rule.