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

DIY

Kids build DIY microscope from LEGO & cheap phone parts

A DIY microscope made out of LEGO bricks and smartphone lenses could be a powerful learning tool, teaching kids the basics of microscopy.

Kristin Houser

Animals

Hippos in tracking study unexpectedly contract anthrax

A study into the movement of hippos led to new research on anthrax outbreaks when some of the animals wearing GPS trackers contracted the disease.

Kristin Houser

Biology

3D-printed liver tissue may be first step to lab-grown organs

A NASA challenge designed to accelerate tissue engineering has announced two winning teams, both of which used 3D bioprinting to create human liver tissue.

Kristin Houser

Neurodiversity

Flickering screens help kids with reading disabilities

Adding visual white noise to computer screens appears to help children with reading disabilities read and recall words written on them.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

Google and Harvard have created the most detailed brain map yet

Google and Harvard have released the most detailed map yet, called a connectome, of a section of the human brain.

B. David Zarley

Agriculture

Disease-resistant banana created with CRISPR

African scientists have used CRISPR to create a disease-resistant banana that is indistinguishable from unmodified plants.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Microscopic animals revived after 24,000 years in permafrost

A multicellular animal called the bdelloid rotifer has used cryptobiosis to survive in the Siberian permafrost for at least 24,000 years.

Kristin Houser

Neuroscience

What happens when your brain imagines the future?

Research out of the University of Pennsylvania suggests imagining the future is a two-brain region job.

B. David Zarley

Medicine

"Light-shrinking" material cranks normal microscopes up to 11

Researchers have developed a light-shrinking slide coating that allows light microscopes to image in “super-resolution.”

B. David Zarley

Genetics

The entire human genome has (finally) been sequenced

Researchers have finally sequenced the complete human genome, filling the gaps in the Human Genome Project’s historic first draft.

Kristin Houser

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