Biologists Build Synthetic Cell that Can Feed, Grow, Divide and Evolve
Biologists at the University of Minnesota say they have built a synthetic cell — made entirely from non-living…
Scientists Just Found a Smiling “Happy-Face” Spider in the Himalayas
Cephalothorax of female holotype of T. himalayana sp. nov. Credit: Devi Priyadarshini and Ashirwad Tripathy For more than…
New Theory of Smallest Human: Not a Hunter, but Eater of Lizard Leftovers
Who exactly was Homo floresiensis, the strange miniature hominins that once lived on the Indonesian island of Flores?…
Decades of research reveal surprising secrets about hantavirus evolution
“Thirty years ago, it was our common sense understanding that hantavirus does not and perhaps cannot spread from…
Evolutionary noncoding RNAs reveal new targets for cancer therapy
In cancer research, one person’s junk is increasingly becoming another person’s treasure. Scientists have now uncovered new evidence…
Scientists map how chronic stress alters somatostatin levels in the brain
Consider the brake. Not the engine, which gets all the attention, but the brake, the quiet thing that…
Meet ‘Smilodon’ — The Sabertooth Cat With A Bite Weaker Than A House Cat’s
The Ice Age’s most famous predator, Smilodon, killed with muscle, not jaw strength, and figuring that out took…
Sleep protects complex neural networks from drifting into states of permanent instability
Every animal that has ever been studied closely, from the fruit fly to the philosopher, surrenders each day…
Difficult childbirth is not unique to humans, study finds
The tight fit of a baby’s head through a mother’s birth canal, which causes great difficulty in childbirth,…
New Research Traces Origins of Human Laughter
The way humans laugh — in rapid, rhythmically timed bursts — is not uniquely ours. New research by…
A Giant Scorpion the Size of a Coffee Table Is Forcing Scientists To Rethink Evolution
Life reconstruction of Praearcturus gigas. Credit: Franz Anthony Praearcturus gigas was a meter-long Devonian scorpion whose size may…
Cone opsin structures offer insights into vision loss
The retina of the human eye contains six to seven million cone cells. These cells contain light-sensitive proteins…