Life
- Brain
Having sparse links in the hippocampus may maximize memory storage
Tissue from the memory centers of people’s brains reveal relatively few links among nerve cells in the hippocampus. But they carried strong, reliable signals.
- Animals
Tiger beetles weaponize sound to ward off bat predators
Some beetles make ultrasonic clicks that camouflage them as toxic tiger moths, warning hungry bats to stay away.
- Animals
Analyze This: When do cats move like liquids?
Cats flow through narrow openings but hesitate before short openings. That may help them avoid unseen danger in the wild.
- Brain
Could the magic of memory manipulation ever become real?
Someday, technology might be able to help people better hold onto memories or forget bad ones.
- Genetics
This young biologist looked for links between diet and dyslexia
Thermo Fisher JIC finalist Giselle Drewett wanted to know how lifestyle might influence a gene related to dyslexia.
- Chemistry
Some bacteria in wastewater can break down a common plastic
These microbes can break the carbon bonds that make PET plastics so hard to degrade. This type of plastic makes up almost one-third of plastic waste.
- Tech
Meet 5 types of robots with living body parts
Creature-machine mash-ups seem weird or even creepy. But biohybrids that make use of living tissue could be the future of robotics.
- Plants
Microbes give plants a way to make ‘meaty’ nutrients
Enzymes from animals helped a test plant make two nutrients essential for a balanced diet. Normally, those nutrients would only be found in meat.
- Animals
A surprising number of animals eat poop
A new tally finds more than 150 vertebrate species willing to snack on feces. Eating poop offers nutrients and other benefits.
- Chemistry
Let’s learn about chocolate
Humans have been making chocolate for millennia. Now scientists are investigating how to make this tasty treat more abundant and nutritious.
- Chemistry
Behold the world’s thinnest pasta
Made from white flour and formic acid, the nanofibers average just 370 nanometers across. That’s two-hundredths the thickness of a human hair.
- Brain
Scientists are exploring why some people don’t have a mind’s eye
A researcher with aphantasia is studying how different senses work together in the brain — and when they don’t.
