Why 'designer babies' won't be here anytime soon
Human embryos are uniquely resistant to inserting foreign DNA via CRISPR
Jay Bassan
Chemical Cancer Biology
University of Toronto
Science-curious? Wonder with us
Latest Articles
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Inside the effort to create entire genomes from scratch
Yes, even human ones
Devang Mehta
Synthetic Biology
ETH Zurich
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The breakthrough behind those 'pure blue' chrysanthemums was pure luck
Sometimes, the most delightful findings are the most unexpected
Andrew Scarpelli
Molecular Biology
National Louis University
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Diabetes is a much stranger disease than I realized
We don't really know what causes diabetes, but it involves these misshapen proteins infecting each other
Dan Samorodnitsky
Biochemistry
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How scientists use light to manipulate cells with the flick of a switch
Optogenetics lets us probe the inner workings of cells with unprecedented precision
Jackie Grimm
Molecular Biology
Princeton University
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The time I solved a tricky lab problem with Google and Vaseline
Yup, scientists use search engines, too
Louisa Cockbill
Biochemistry
University of Bristol
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Advances in gene therapy could help cure a cruel childhood illness
Most viruses make people sick. But we're learning to use them to deliver cures to complex diseases
Yewande Pearse
Neuroscience
LA Biomed
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We need to change the way we think about alcoholism
A neuroscientist argues that genetics alone isn't enough to beat the illness or the stigma
David Haggerty
Neuroscience
Indiana University School of Medicine
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Want to know where hard-to-find squid live? Ask their predators
Look, sometimes you need to "offload water" from a giant albatross...for science
Rebecca Flynn
Environmental Science
University of Rhode Island
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From helium to relativity, eclipses have a history of producing big finds
Here are multiple ways for you to join in the eclipse science tradition on August 21
Jesse Feddersen
Astronomy
Yale University
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How turmeric became a naturopathic cure-all without the evidence to back it up
Scientists and the media share a fair amount of the blame
Ana Gorelova
Molecular Pharmacology
University of Pittsburgh
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Your body's cells adapt to stress to avoid making mistakes
Our biological building blocks may be much more resilient than scientists thought possible
Irene Park
Genetics
University of Michigan
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Storing video in DNA is cool, but recording a cell's lifecycle could change biology
The galloping horse video that made news was just the first step
Danny Jomaa
Biochemistry
University of Ottawa
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How do mosses reproduce? By spreading their seed on everything
That's right: come for the soft, cool outdoor perch – leave covered in moss sperm
Jerald Pinson
Botany
University of Florida
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MDMA can help fight PTSD—if scientists are allowed to use it
How psychedelics could remain illegal, even if research shows they help heal
Shannon Stewart
Cell Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Meet the astronomer who changed how we see the stars
Williamina Fleming pioneered a system for classifying stars and discovered the Horsehead Nebula
Kirsi Goldynia
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How do researchers study a deadly bacterium? They give mice our immune system
Trying to understand MRSA, a recent study used mice whose defenses were 5 to 63 percent human
Kelly Hallstrom
Biomedical Sciences
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How Shark Week hurts the very creatures it celebrates
Showing attacks makes people less likely to support protecting sharks, though they rarely bite people unless we harm their food system
Anna Robuck
Marine Ecology
University of Rhode Island
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Want to learn how brains go awry? First, we must learn how they work
We set out to make neurons deep in the brain glow bright so we could see their role in vision
Ashley Juavinett
Neuroscience
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
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Stopping to smell the roses? You're inhaling flower farts
Flowers use little protein motors to expel their fragrances
Abrahim El Gamal
Marine Chemical Biology
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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In science, failure can be a blessing. Just look at Viagra
The little blue pill started life as a failed treatment for chest pain
Ana Gorelova
Molecular Pharmacology
University of Pittsburgh
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When scientists become 'data parasites,' everybody wins
Why some scientists are celebrating colleagues who "steal" data
Alison Gilchrist
Molecular Biology
University of Colorado Boulder
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Maryam Mirzakhani died Friday. Her legacy lives on
The first woman to win a Fields Medal was only 40, but she revolutionized mathematics
Kirsi Goldynia
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How fatal snail venom can be reimagined as a lifesaving diabetes treatment
This unique, weaponized form of insulin could produce a new class of fast-acting drugs for managing diabetes.
Abhishek Chari
Biology
University of Utah
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How scientists are mapping the brain networks that connect our childhoods to everyday behaviors
It's shining a light on the complex origins of mental illness.
Prabarna Ganguly
Neuroscience
Northeastern University
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The soil microbiome could change agriculture—if we can understand it
Tinkering with the buzzing "social network" in the soil could be a new frontier for making crops grow faster and healthier.
Michael Graw
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
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Can scientists learn from the stock market to eradicate HIV?
HIV is tricky to fight because the virus changes so much. That reminded researchers of something else that fluctuates frequently.
Kasra Zarei
Biomedical Sciences
University of Iowa
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Meet a scientist: David Haggerty, who hates working with mice but does it anyway
"I was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with my own life."
David Haggerty
Neuroscience
Indiana University School of Medicine
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An unexplained result shows why studying the effects of chemicals is so tricky
Even in the lab, it's not easy to control every part of the process
Rachel Shaffer
Environmental Health
University of Washington
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Cephalopods are forcing us to rethink what it means to be colorblind
Octopuses, squids and cuttlefish should technically be colorblind. So how do they camouflage so well?
Ada Hagan
Microbiology
University of Michigan
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I empathize with anti-vaxxers. Here's how flawed autism science can lead to the wrong conclusions.
Autism research is difficult to understand, and that's our fault as scientists.
David Haggerty
Neuroscience
Indiana University School of Medicine
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How stressed-out fish are teaching us about human heart disease
Farmed fish and office-bound humans face a common problem
Kelsey Lucas
Physiology, Marine Biology, and Ecology
Harvard University
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This tiny fly is teaching the Air Force new aerial tactics
The robber fly's novel hunting tactics and visual processing capabilities could be applied to drones and airplanes
Louisa Cockbill
Biochemistry
University of Bristol
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Why the first vertebrates to leave the ocean learned to see before they could walk
Advanced eyesight might have paved the way for better brains and complex thought
Brittney Borowiec
Environmental Physiology
McMaster University
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A scientist explains why you should approach exciting microbiome news with caution
We know the microbiome is important to health, but we're still developing the tools to understand how and why
Ilana Arbisser
Computational Biology
Stanford University
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Meet the "First Lady of Physics," "Queen of Nuclear Research," and destroyer of natural laws
Chien-Shiung Wu conducted some of the most elegant particle physics experiments of her time
Nadja Oertelt
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We've poured thousands of manmade chemicals into the ocean. Now they're mixing in unpredictable ways.
We're just starting to learn about the effects of POP soup and what we can do about it.
Anna Robuck
Marine Ecology
University of Rhode Island
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Meet the chemist who engineered the first effective treatment of leprosy
Alice Augusta Ball’s died at the age of 24. Ninety years later, we finally started recognizing her contributions.
Nadja Oertelt
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How studying fish camouflage can teach us to examine our biases
The human perspective isn't always the most useful one.
Andrea Schlunk
Marine Biology
University of Rhode Island
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Will it ever be possible to measure subjective experience?
A animated journey into the questions of consciousness posed by Christof Koch and David Chalmers
Nadja Oertelt
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Seagrass meadows protect fish, coral and humans from disease – and we’re losing them
This seemingly mundane plant might be more important than we realize.
Megan Chen
Marine Biology
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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A researcher explains why cancer isn't mainly caused by bad luck
Understanding where mutations come from is key to fighting the disease.
Michael Badgley
Pathology
Columbia University
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Most of your favorite flowers are mutants
You'll never look at a rose the same way again.
Claire Meaders
Biology
Harvard University
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4 incredible fossils found by paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey
Meet the British anthropologist who completely changed our understanding of the hominid ancestral tree
Massive Staff
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These Weird Ocean 'Aliens' Are Basically Invisible
Researchers didn't even realize they had caught one until they bumped into it.
Ashley Marranzino
Marine Biology
University of Rhode Island
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Meet the woman who changed how we treat cancer
Jane Cooke Wright saved millions by making chemotherapy more effective
Massive Staff
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Meet the physicist who helped discover three fundamental particles
Most scientists spend their careers hoping for a single big discovery. Sau Lan Wu has had three and is still searching for more.
Massive Staff
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Conservationists can't tackle all of the ocean's problems at once, so scientists are helping them triage
The ocean contains many vulnerable ecosystems that need protecting. So where should we start?
Abrahim El Gamal
Marine Chemical Biology
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
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We still don't really know how Zika gets into the brain
For this scientist, the race to understand one of the world's most mysterious diseases is personal.
Michael F. Wells
Neuroscience
Harvard University
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Meet the first black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry
Marie Maynard Daly worked at a time when our understanding of DNA was changing in big ways
Massive Staff
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These tiny methane-eating organisms have an outsize impact on our climate models
They don't need as much oxygen as we think, and that's a big deal for climate scientists.
Michael Graw
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
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Dreaming and wakefulness are two ways of being yourself
The definition of consciousness is harder to pin down than you might think, argues cognitive neuroscientist Elizaveta Solomonova.
Nadja Oertelt
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Scientists are gluing teeth to power saws to learn how sharks eat
The cutting edge of science isn't always high-tech.
Kelsey Lucas
Physiology, Marine Biology, and Ecology
Harvard University
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Meet the botanist who made sugarcane sweeter and snuck a squirrel into England
Janaki Ammal lived simply. Her life was anything but.
Massive Staff
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3 incredible stories from the life of nanoscience pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus
The “Queen of Carbon” didn’t earn her title by playing by the rules
Massive Staff
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The sublime, dark depths of the unknown universe, animated
How do you visualize something that, by definition, can’t be seen?
Nadja Oertelt
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Neuroscientists proved the brain regenerates. Now they’re trying to figure out how.
Defying common knowledge lead us to a theory of neurogenesis.
Kirsi Goldynia
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Neurons die with grace
Neuroscientist Emily Lowry’s ongoing research on how and why nerve cells die has implications for Alzheimer’s, ALS and beyond.
Massive Staff
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Scientists are concerned and troubled by the Trump administration
Research could wither if the federal funding it depends on becomes scarce or disappears.
Massive Staff
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We can’t see it or feel it, but we know it’s out there. Probably.
Learn how we know about dark matter, the best attempts so far to explain what it is, and the experiments that are trying to detect it.
Massive Staff
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Condensed Matters: Science in Short
Learn about the standard model, dark matter and consciousness in less than 6 minutes.
Nadja Oertelt
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Searching for bird poop helped us understand the origins of the universe
How do you win a Nobel Prize? Persistence, patience and some very stubborn birds.
Mika McKinnon
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Dark Matter makes up a quarter of our universe, but we still have no idea what it is
The discovery of the Higgs boson points us in the right direction, but we’re still feeling our way through the dark.
Massive Staff
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“Where Are All The Aliens?”
The best answers to an old, tantalizing question
Gabe Stein
🔬 Tiny Worlds
It's amazing what's hidden just out of sight
-
A scientist explains why you should approach exciting microbiome news with caution
We know the microbiome is important to health, but we're still developing the tools to understand how and why
Ilana Arbisser
Computational Biology
Stanford University
-
The soil microbiome could change agriculture—if we can understand it
Tinkering with the buzzing "social network" in the soil could be a new frontier for making crops grow faster and healthier.
Michael Graw
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
-
How do mosses reproduce? By spreading their seed on everything
That's right: come for the soft, cool outdoor perch – leave covered in moss sperm
Jerald Pinson
Botany
University of Florida
-
These tiny methane-eating organisms have an outsize impact on our climate models
They don't need as much oxygen as we think, and that's a big deal for climate scientists.
Michael Graw
Microbial Ecology
Oregon State University
Our Heroes
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Meet the astronomer who changed how we see the stars
Williamina Fleming pioneered a system for classifying stars and discovered the Horsehead Nebula
Kirsi Goldynia
-
Maryam Mirzakhani died Friday. Her legacy lives on
The first woman to win a Fields Medal was only 40, but she revolutionized mathematics
Kirsi Goldynia
-
Meet the "First Lady of Physics," "Queen of Nuclear Research," and destroyer of natural laws
Chien-Shiung Wu conducted some of the most elegant particle physics experiments of her time
Nadja Oertelt
-
Meet the chemist who engineered the first effective treatment of leprosy
Alice Augusta Ball’s died at the age of 24. Ninety years later, we finally started recognizing her contributions.
Nadja Oertelt
-
4 incredible fossils found by paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey
Meet the British anthropologist who completely changed our understanding of the hominid ancestral tree
Massive Staff
-
Meet the woman who changed how we treat cancer
Jane Cooke Wright saved millions by making chemotherapy more effective
Massive Staff
-
Meet the physicist who helped discover three fundamental particles
Most scientists spend their careers hoping for a single big discovery. Sau Lan Wu has had three and is still searching for more.
Massive Staff
-
Meet the first black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry
Marie Maynard Daly worked at a time when our understanding of DNA was changing in big ways
Massive Staff
-
Meet the botanist who made sugarcane sweeter and snuck a squirrel into England
Janaki Ammal lived simply. Her life was anything but.
Massive Staff
-
3 incredible stories from the life of nanoscience pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus
The “Queen of Carbon” didn’t earn her title by playing by the rules
Massive Staff
Themes
Collections of surprising science