How does a cabbage seed respond to being in space?
If humans are to ever leave planet Earth, one of the first challenges we must face is how to feed ourselves. Space is hostile to life, with…
Category: Biology
How long will plastic waste stick around in the deep sea?
Plastics are ideal for use in household and industrial products because they are strong and elastic, but these properties also make them…
Discovery of a bacterium 10,000 times larger than normal surprises microbiologists
The living organisms that we see around us are made up of billions or even trillions of cells. Multicellular organisms are often considered…
How mosquitoes sniff out their prey
Mosquitoes’ brains uniquely respond to a special blend of compounds found in human body odor, allowing them to track us by smell.
Can genetics tell us if dog behavior really varies by breed?
Dogs have been in our lives for at least 10,000 years. At first, dogs did not look like today’s common breeds — these appeared only…
Where did all these plants come from?
Without plants on earth, we would not be here. But, where did plants come from? Did they suddenly just sprout out of the ground? Scientists…
Could quantum dots reduce the cost of indoor farming?
Why does this help plants? Plants can capture energy from many colors of light, but they cannot use energy from ultraviolet radiation. By…
What if plastic could detect light or clean wastewater?
Engineered living materials are composed of both synthetic materials and living cells. They are made in a lab to do things, like respond to…
Simulating cancer patients’ organs in the lab to test treatments
Scientists were able to combine the patient's cancer cells and immune cells in a culture "Petri dish" to simulate the patients’ bodies,…
A novel way to detect mutated DNA in blood of cancer patients
Scientists test a new way to "type" cancers using a blood test, by irradiating the tumor to make the tumor DNA more detectable in the blood.