The Great Pandemic Stress Test
How emergency forces innovation & one Italian scientist advanced our understanding of COVID variants.
Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash
The Genetic Lottery is a bust for both genetics and policy
Kathryn Paige Harden’s book tries to demonstrate how genetics can ameliorate societal ills. She falls well, well short
Princeton University Press
Urbanization increases risk for knee osteoarthritis, even in young children
A study shows that rural children tend towards a healthier future for their joints compared to kids in cities
A newly discovered cryosphere-dwelling yeast stays alive by making ethanol
Rhodotorula frigidialcoholis was isolated from 150,000-year-old permafrost in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica
El sur de Inglaterra alberga a una pequeña, pero prospera población de walabíes de cuello rojo
Los walabíes fueron introducidos al país al principio del siglo XX
To find extraterrestrials, we have to think like extraterrestrials
Researchers must ponder what extraterrestrials might know and how they might behave
Researchers can trace the family tree of individual mutations inside our cells
The task is like looking through a book with six billion letters for individual typos
Via Wikimedia
A butterfly's wings are the perfect mold to grow neurons on
Butterfly wings provide the right topography for nerve cells to grow, with an aim towards ameliorating hearing loss
Via Wikimedia
Even cities have their own unique microbiomes
A study of microorganisms collected from public transportation systems shows even cities have microbial signatures
Photo by Euan Cameron on Unsplash
On faster spinning planets, life could be hiding out under the atmosphere
Astrobiologists search for molecular oxygen as an indicator of life on other planets, but finding them isn't that straightforward
Phil Hartmeyer, NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Caffeine keeps your body fat warm, on top of lighting up your brain
Hot take: caffeine triggers brown fat thermogenesis via the brain
To save the reefs, save the trees and the soil they grow in
Soil from the surface can smother reefs. A new study creates a map of corals most susceptible to runoff from land
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Animals, plants, and even some bacteria use hypodermic needles
Needles are everywhere in nature, evolving independently many times in a variety of organisms
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Artificial light makes it harder for nocturnal pollinators to find flowers and avoid predators
New research demonstrates that artificial light at night interferes with elephant hawkmoths' senses
A failed star known as "The Accident" is changing the way we look at the galaxy
The newly discovered brown dwarf is the first of its kind
NASA/ESA/JPL
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Songbirds might hold the key to managing our cholesterol levels
Songbirds have lost "bad" cholesterol and some of its associated proteins over time. This makes for plaque-free finch arteries and a hale and healthy heart
Via Wikimedia
A new drug reduces risk of psychosis relapse in patients with dementia
Pimavanserin has not received approval from the FDA, but study results are encouraging
Vlad Sargu via Unsplash
Research demonstrates speech-in-noise training helps children with auditory processing disorder
Children with APD have difficulty perceiving speech when there is background noise and may have trouble on cognitive tests
There's a connection between fasting, gut microbiota and blood pressure
Fasting reduces high blood pressure in rats by changing the gut microbiota composition. But fasting still shouldn't be a go-to yet
Bonnie Kittle via Unsplash
After decades of work, an effective cytomegalovirus vaccine is on the horizon
Monoclonal antibodies reveal key vaccine structure
Via Wikimedia
There's more than one way to discover a new species
Papers published this year demonstrate the different paths to recognition
Villu Soon, Natural History Museum, University of Tartu
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Cuttlefish can learn with the brains they keep in their arms
With 500 million neurons dispersed throughout the body, some say they have 9 brains
Via Wikimedia
The Biden administration must restore funding to the Cooperative Extension Services
Extension agents play a key role in assisting farmers and, now, bringing COVID-19 vaccines to rural communities
Photo by James Baltz on Unsplash
The screen you are reading this on is probably emitting volatile organic compounds
A new study demonstrates that, in addition to a variety of other household products, LCD screens also emit these compounds
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 improves mental health
People who received the COVID-19 vaccine experienced less depression and anxiety compared to unvaccinated individuals
How survival of the fittest can look a lot like rock-paper-scissors
Sometimes ancestors are more "fit" than their progeny
Don't bank those seeds — some oaks can be "cryopreserved"
Acorns can't be frozen, but tips of oak tree shoots can
Serendipitous data reveals a previously unknown ecosystem under Arctic ice
Fish gas bladders interfere with sonar, and we can use that interference to study Arctic fish stocks
NOAA via Unsplash
Male and female mice form memories of fearful events differently
A drug that blocks memory forming in male mice has a different effect in females
Psilocybin reduced depression symptoms as much as a leading antidepressant
New research compared the "magic mushrooms" component to Lexapro
How a tiny pet store fish became the center of neuroscience research
The tropical zebrafish is used extensively in genetics, neuroscience, and development labs worldwide
Cocaine use slices and dices RNA in mouse brain cells
The analysis of epigenetic changes caused by cocaine use adds to the evidence that substance use disorders are rooted in biology
Your gut bacteria may be hoarding your medication
Researchers have observed this effect in petri dishes and nematodes
Meet the springhare: the first glow-in-the-dark African mammal known to science
Researchers discovered the springhare's fluorescent abilities entirely by accident
For the first time ever, researchers have "housebroken" cows
Controlling where cow waste ends up could lead to cleaner air and water and decreased greenhouse gas emissions
Feeding extra amino acids to cells with a mutated enzyme makes them grow faster
This new finding could lead to advances in treatment of diseases caused by ARS mutations
White pine blister rust's habitat range is changing with the climate
New study in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks demonstrates the complexity of changing plant-pathogen interactions
The larva of a the thistle tortoise beetle deposits poop on its back as a shield.
Judy Gallagher via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
These uses of poop for protection are stranger than fiction
Defense by dung doesn't always elicit disgust in predators to repel them
Zebrafish without "love hormone" neurons show no desire to socialize with each other
New research shows the importance of oxytocin for social affiliation and isolation
Giant clams are growing faster than ever. That's not a good thing
This supercharged growth is likely due to nitrate aerosols in our modern atmosphere
Skeletons' broken clavicles tell a centuries-old tale of humans and horses
Clavicle fractures can be used to identify horse riders from their bones
Researchers observe a boar releasing two caged younglings in a impassioned rescue
The act sheds light on the prosocial behavior and empathy of wild boars, thought to be rare among animals
Roe deer pause development of their embryos for months, and researchers just learned how
An embryonic phenomenon discovered over 150 years ago may finally have an explanation
Female jumping spiders favor the most aggressive males
A new study provides evidence for sexual selection in these spiders
People with sickle cell disease are less likely to get kidney transplants than those without
Sickle cell disease predominantly affects Black populations, and kidney transplants can save their lives
Bacteria can live without food for over 1000 days
Nearly three years without food drives innovative survival strategies
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Freshwater zebra mussels deal with microplastics surprisingly well
The invasive species may hold lessons for others
Germ-free mice show how eating common oils affects our microbiomes
New research adds to our knowledge about how the oils we eat affect our bodies
Can slime molds remember?
Unique signals may propagate through the slime mold's tendrils when they reach food
Without synaptic "nibbling," mice develop behavioral problems
Mice without microglia grow up with an excess of inhibitory neurons
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A collection of opioid-cessation productions with names like "Soothdrawal" and "Nofeel Cravites"
Via Wikimedia
Tapering off opioids is treacherous for mental health
A large-scale study shows how the opioid epidemic has created downstream negative health outcomes