How would we know if COVID-19 came from a lab?
A group of researchers gathered evidence from previous studies and, using what is known about the virus structure, made the case that the…
Category: Big Questions
Protection by disinfection: best ways to sanitize surfaces from the coronavirus family
What are the best ways to sanitize various surfaces from coronaviruses? A team of researchers reviewed 22 studies to better understand the…
Looking Back on Dyson Spheres
It might be likely that civilizations eventually develop large spherical shells that can catch all of the light emitted from their stars -…
A glow-in-the-dark protein called luciferase improves medical diagnostics
A smaller version of the enzyme that allows fireflies and jellyfish to glow naturally is now being used in medical diagnostics.
How long will it take to contain COVID-19?
Computer models are handy tools to figure out how well our public health interventions might work in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic…
What are the triggers for dangerous landslides?
In a paper published in Nature last month, researchers found that there is a greater risk of landslides after earthquakes, especially…
Using Essential Oils to Preserve Delicate Fish Fillets
Food scientists are always on the lookout for better ways to preserve fish. Could essential oils be the key? #sashimi #essentialoils
O, the Drama! The discovery of oxygen
This is the story of how scientists first discovered that oxygen was a thing, in the 1700s. One of our writers did some digging into the…
Tiny green organisms could have a big impact on polluted environments
Can photosynthetic organisms help clean up contamination? New research from @DominiqueChaput, @biominerals, @RadicalMicrobe & authors…
Which came first, the cysteine or the egg?
Scientists used to think cysteine was required to manufacture itself. Turns out, it isn't. In fact, cysteine slows down the manufacture of…