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

Fireflies may use “musical armor” to keep bats at bay

Fireflies’ primary aposematic signal that they’re poisonous may not be visible to bats, so the bugs appear to have a second, sound-based warning sign.

Kristin Houser

Spinach skeleton becomes base for lab-grown meat

After spinach leaves were stripped of their plant cells, the skeletons were used as a scaffold for lab-grown meat.

Kristin Houser

The next generation of living machines: xenobots 2.0

Made from the stem cells of a frog, “Xenobots” are tiny living machines. And researchers have just debuted version 2.0.

B. David Zarley

Boston Dynamics unveils a new robot: Stretch

Boston Dynamics’ second commercial offering is a warehouse robot named Stretch that can lift and move 800, 50-pound boxes every hour.

Kristin Houser

Series| Catalysts

Research grants, the silicon valley way

4:48

In partnership with Stand Together

What if there was a way to fast-forward innovation? An economist and tech billionaire recently joined forces to make research grants available within 14 days.

Jack Berning

This insect swiped a gene from plants to help itself survive

A plant gene has been discovered in whiteflies, marking the first known example of horizontal gene transfer of a functional gene between plants and insects.

Kristin Houser

Researchers have built a mini-lab for mini-brains

Researchers have created a “tiny machine” to better study brain organoids, clumps of stem cells that simulate the brain.

B. David Zarley

Watch Japan’s latest robot painter in action

For SXSW’s AI Painting Project, a robot arm was trained to generate paintings based on given concepts and using a limited number of brushstrokes.

Kristin Houser

bacteria under marine snow brought to life

Scientists brought to life 100-million-year-old bacteria

Researchers successfully resuscitated bacteria from the South Pacific Gyre that were buried under marine snow for 100 million years.

Teresa Carey

Researchers have grown a mouse embryo in a bottle

Researchers have grown a mouse embryo outside the uterus for longer than ever before, opening up the door to learning more about how mammals grow.

B. David Zarley

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