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

Clean Energy

Here’s what that fusion power breakthrough really means

This year, NIF reports that it has achieved "ignition" — that is, it has achieved slightly more fusion energy output than laser energy input.

Tom Hartsfield

Biology

Startup unveils $179 houseplant engineered to purify your air

Neoplants' $179 genetically engineered houseplant pulls VOCs from the air 30 times more efficiently than plants found in nature.

Kristin Houser

Food

Bacteria breakthrough could create brand new cheese flavors

A new set of experiments has shown for the first time how the unique flavors of different cheeses can be linked to specific types of bacteria.

Sam Jarman

Sustainability

A green trifecta: how a concrete alternative can cut emissions, resource use, and waste

Building materials and construction generate about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. What if there was an alternative?

Aliakbar Gholampour

Sustainability

Seabin: How these “floating garbage bins” can help clean up our waters

Each floating garbage bin is capable of capturing 90,000 plastic bags every year for less than $1 a day, just by being in the water.

Pooja Chhabria | World Economic Forum

Oceans

Playing sea soundscapes can summon thousands of baby oysters – and help regrow oyster reefs

Researchers amplified the natural sounds of the sea through underwater speakers to draw baby oysters to swim to the location.

Sean Connell and Lachlan McLeod and Brittany Williams and Dominic McAfee

Planet Earth

Discovery finds the Earth’s core is constantly changing the length our day

The length of our day changes slightly over a six-year period. This recent discovery has perplexed scientists for about a decade.

Elizabeth Fernandez

Food

Lab-grown meat clears major FDA hurdle

Startup UPSIDE Foods’ lab-grown chicken has passed a key FDA checkpoint, putting cultured meat one step closer to sale in the US.

Kristin Houser

Archaeology

Our ancestors first developed humanlike brains 1.7 million years ago

Using computed tomography, a team of researchers generated images of what the brains of early Homo species likely looked like.

Stephen Johnson

Neuroscience

Brain implant translates neural activity into letters, letting a paralyzed man “speak”

A new device allowed a paralyzed patient to "speak," spelling out full sentences in real-time with an error rate of about 8%.

Mo Costandi

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