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

Genetics

Genetically engineering the first hypoallergenic cat

Scientists are attempting to create the world’s first truly hypoallergenic cat by deleting the feline gene that causes cat allergies.

Kristin Houser

Oceans

The dangerous job of the International Ice Patrol

The International Ice Patrol is a real thing. They're protecting our ships from iceberg collisions.

Teresa Carey

Psychology

New evidence of memory consolidation while we sleep

Thanks to brain implants, scientists have the first direct evidence of “offline replay” in humans, a process thought to be key to memory consolidation.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Microbe in mosquito guts completely blocks malaria parasite

Scientists have discovered a microbe in the guts of mosquitoes that appears to prevent the most common malaria parasite from infecting the insects.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Computer scientists build new tool to fight coronavirus

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Computer scientists are using AI and text mining to sort through thousands of coronavirus research papers that could help fight the disease.

Doug Dais

Animals

Researchers are rushing to freeze… lab mice sperm?

With their labs closing and the future unclear, researchers are sending precious cargo — the sperm of lab mice — to be frozen and stored.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Every significant breakthrough that’s stemmed from the pandemic

A timeline of coronavirus solutions from the people on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.

Teresa Carey

Drugs

An LSD trip “off-switch” may be coming soon

Pharmaceutical startup MindMed is developing tech it believes could serve as an “off switch” for an LSD trip during therapy sessions.

Kristin Houser

Paleontology

Scientists find what looks like DNA in a dinosaur fossil

Researchers have found what appears to be DNA in a dinosaur fossil — a discovery that could radically change our understanding of DNA’s ability to survive.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

An epidemic of false confidence related to COVID-19

To distinguish between the most optimistic and pessimistic pandemic scenarios, we need to measure how many people have developed an immunity to the virus.

Danny Hillis

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