Could COVID drug spawn super virus?

Some worry a treatment that kills SARS-CoV-2 by helping it mutate could spawn a super virus. New research weighs in on its "evolutionary safety."

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Sept. 12, 2023 ~3 min

How does fever help fight infections? There's more to it than even some scientists realize

The heat and chills that come with fever are not only uncomfortable but also metabolically costly. Increased body temperature, however, can make all the difference when you’re sick.

Joe Alcock, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico • conversation
Sept. 11, 2023 ~8 min


Smart pill can track key biological markers in real-time

Coupling engineered bacteria with low-power electronics could be highly effective in diagnosis, treatment of bowel diseases.

Elizabeth A. Thomson | Materials Research Laboratory • mit
Sept. 8, 2023 ~8 min

It's reassuring to think humans are evolution's ultimate destination – but research shows we may be an accident

We may have become the most complex living creature in part by accident and replication of error.

Marcello Ruta, Senior Lecturer, Life Sciences, University of Lincoln • conversation
Sept. 5, 2023 ~8 min

How do flies find every stinky garbage dumpster? A biologist explains their sensory superpower

Flies often beat out competitors for food because of their specialized sensing organs called antennae.

Christine Picard, Associate Professor of Biology, Indiana University • conversation
Sept. 4, 2023 ~6 min

Trans students benefit from gender-inclusive classrooms, research shows – and so do the other students and science itself

‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills claim to use science to justify a binary definition of sex based on certain traits. But the biology of sex and gender is not so simple.

Sarah Eddy, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida International University • conversation
Aug. 31, 2023 ~11 min

Study connects neural gene expression differences to functional distinctions

Researchers compared a pair of superficially similar motor neurons in fruit flies to examine how their differing use of the same genome produced distinctions in form and function.

David Orenstein | The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory • mit
Aug. 25, 2023 ~8 min

Eye atlas could guide targeted therapies in blindness prevention

Researchers’ atlas pinpoints where disease-causing genes are expressed, raising hope for inroads against glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Anne J. Manning • harvard
Aug. 25, 2023 ~5 min


Secrets of the Octopus Garden: Moms nest at thermal springs to give their young the best chance for survival

Thousands of pearl octopuses were discovered in 2018 lining thermal vents near a deep-sea volcano. Researchers now know why octopus moms gather there.

Jim Barry, Marine Ecologist, MBARI, San José State University • conversation
Aug. 23, 2023 ~10 min

Secrets of an octopus's garden: Moms nest at thermal springs to give their young the best chance for survival

Thousands of pearl octopuses were discovered in 2018 lining thermal vents near a deep-sea volcano. Researchers now know why octopus moms gather there.

Jim Barry, Marine Ecologist, MBARI, San José State University • conversation
Aug. 23, 2023 ~9 min

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