Life
- Animals
Gene editing wiped out a population of mosquitoes in lab tests
For the first time, a gene drive caused a population crash of mosquitoes. Such gene editing could drive the malaria-carrying insects to extinction.
- Animals
How Hannibal the cannibal led to a discovery about cobra diet
How a snake named Hannibal led to a discovery about cobra cannibalism
- Animals
Giraffes inherit their spots from mom
Africa’s tallest creatures inherit their characteristic patterns of spots from their mothers, a new study finds.
- Animals
Chigger ‘bites’ may trigger an allergy to red meat
Some people develop a food allergy to red meat, and researchers suspect chiggers bites are to blame.
- Ecosystems
Scientists Say: Understory
A forest isn’t made just out of the tallest trees. Shorter trees and shrubs thrive in their shade. This layer is called the understory.
- Brain
Teens’ cell phone use linked to memory problems
A new study suggests teens who get more exposure to cell-phone radiation — and hold their phones up to their right ear — do worse on one type of memory test.
- Animals
These songbirds can fling and shake mice to death
Loggerhead shrikes skewer small animals on barbed wire and give mice a serious shake-up.
- Chemistry
Don’t flush your contact lenses
One in five people who wear contact lenses flush their used eyewear down the sink or toilet. That plastic pollutes the environment and can harm wildlife.
- Life
Bacteria are all around us — and that’s okay
Scientists may have identified less than one percent of all bacteria on Earth. But there’s a reason to keep up the hunt. These microbes could help us understand and protect our planet.
- Chemistry
Three take home chemistry Nobel for harnessing protein ‘evolution’
New ways to create customized proteins for use in biofuels and medicines earned three researchers the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What are proteins?
In the body, proteins act as biochemical machines to carry out the work of cells.
- Animals
This penguin prey knows how to fight back
Scientists attached cameras to gentoo penguins off the Falkland Islands. The video revealed that their tiny prey can sometimes win in a fight.
