Life
-
BrainExplainer: How our body deals with stress
Our autonomic nervous system balances two natural responses. If stressed or overwhelmed, simple techniques can help to restore that balance.
-
Science & SocietyDoes your natural history museum need a makeover?
A lot of their old-fashioned dioramas — a type of exhibit — are biased, boring or even unscientific. Here’s what modern museums are doing to fix that.
By Amber Dance -
TechA robotic hand helps piano players’ fingers move faster
Robotic devices like this might someday help musicians, gamers, athletes or even surgeons improve their dexterity.
-
AnimalsA changing Arctic current seems to be impacting bowhead whales
A teen researcher investigated bowhead whales and found their migrations may be responding to a changing sea current.
-
AnimalsScientists Say: Caecilian
Some of these amphibians can produce a milk-like liquid for their offspring and give birth to live young. And those aren't the only rules these rebels break.
-
BrainHaving 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.
-
AnimalsTiger 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.
By Maria Temming and JoAnna Wendel -
AnimalsAnalyze 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.
By Carolyn Wilke and Andrea Tamayo -
BrainCould the magic of memory manipulation ever become real?
Someday, technology might be able to help people better hold onto memories or forget bad ones.
-
GeneticsThis 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.
-
ChemistrySome 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.
By Laura Allen -
TechMeet 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.