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

Languages

Neanderthals had the capacity for human communication

Neanderthals appear to have had the capacity to hear verbal language, suggesting that modern human communication has ancient roots.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Fuel tests to begin for world’s largest fusion reactor

At the JET nuclear fusion reactor, scientists are testing a fuel that could power a $25 billion nuclear fusion device.

Kristin Houser

Archaeology

After 360,000 years, extinct cave bear's DNA is still readable

Scientists have sequenced the DNA from the ear bone of an ancient cave bear, an extinct relative of the polar and brown bears.

Teresa Carey

Meet the chess AI you might actually beat

Maia is a chess AI designed to play like you, not crush you. Predicting the most human decisions may pave the way for AI to train and work with us.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

A virus invisibility cloak makes AAV gene therapy safer

Researchers have figured out a way to cloak the AVV so it can sneak past the human immune system and deliver its gene therapy payload undetected.

Teresa Carey

CRISPR

Scientists use CRISPR to create neanderthal mini-brains in a lab

Scientists modified brain tissue from modern humans to carry a gene that once belonged to Neanderthals.

Teresa Carey

Genetics

Black-footed ferret is first cloned US endangered species

A black-footed ferret clone could inject a much-needed dose of genetic diversity into her species, which is on the brink of extinction.

Kristin Houser

Paleontology

Gators and guineafowl may help us understand how dinosaurs moved

Using x-ray 3D-imaging techniques, researchers are turning to gators and guineafowl to better understand how dinosaurs moved.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

These mutant zebrafish are growing arm bones

While studying mutant zebrafish, scientists discovered that a single genetic mutation caused the fish to start developing the beginnings of arms.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Brain mapping: Explained

The brain is a difficult place to work. How can brain mapping help open the black box between your ears?

B. David Zarley

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