Science

a colorful image of a human embryo at Day 11 under a microscope

Model human embryo, created from stem cells, survives past two weeks

A model human embryo capable of developing past day 14 could revolutionize our understanding of human development.

How years of fighting every wildfire helped fuel the Western megafires of today

The current approach to fire management poses unnecessarily high stakes for forests. Here’s why fighting every fire does more harm than good.

Paul Hessburg and Keala Hagmann and Susan J. Prichard

rows of black rock with the gloved hands of a scientist in the background

Planet Earth

Record-breaking amount of Earth’s mantle drilled out of ocean floor

Scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution have retrieved “a staggering” amount of mantle rock from below the ocean floor.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

We need to rethink global food production to have a shot at our climate goals

Emissions from food alone could use up all of our budget for 1.5°C or 2°C – but we have opportunities to avoid this.

Hannah Ritchie

Physics

We now know the big bang theory is (probably) not how the universe began

Scientists used to think the universe began from a singularity. Nearly 100 years later, we're not so sure.

Ethan Siegel

Biology

Lizard regenerates perfect tail thanks to stem cells

A USC study that prompted lizards to regenerate tails that were “perfect” could help facilitate breakthroughs in human regeneration.

Kristin Houser

Inventions

5 recent breakthroughs that completely changed electronics

From wearable electronics to microscopic sensors, new advances are bringing "impossible" electronics to life.

Ethan Siegel

Genetics

Genetically modified barley can grow meat protein

An Icelandic firm is growing genetically modified barley plants with special “growth factors” that could create lab-grown meat.

Teresa Carey

CRISPR

CRISPR is revolutionizing medicine — its origin story is pretty incredible, too

The origin story of CRISPR highlights how groundbreaking discoveries can emerge from run-of-the-mill research.

Jonny Thomson

Neuroscience

Here’s why sensory perception research was awarded a Nobel Prize

Physiologists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research on human sensory perception.

Tim Brinkhof

Agriculture

Scientists convert CO2 into synthetic starch

A process for making synthetic starch from CO2 eliminates the need for growing resource-intensive starchy plants.

Kristin Houser

CRISPR

This gene-edited tomato may help lower your blood pressure

A gene-edited tomato that may be able to lower your blood pressure is the first CRISPR-edited food to be sold commercially.

Kristin Houser

CRISPR

Gene-edited fish grow up to 60% more muscle

A gene-edited fish that grows up to 60% more muscle on the same amount of feed could help revitalize Japan’s aquaculture industry.

Kristin Houser

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