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Wanted: More Data, the Dirtier the Better
The computational immunologist Purvesh Khatri embraces messy data as a way to capture the messiness of disease. As a result, he’s making elusive genomic discoveries.
A Theory of Reality as More Than the Sum of Its Parts
New math shows how, contrary to conventional scientific wisdom, conscious beings and other macroscopic entities might have greater influence over the future than do the sum of their microscopic components.
Awash in Sea of Data, Ecologists Turn to Open Access Tools
To assess the ocean’s health, ecology’s “rugged individualists” learned to get with the big data program.
The Thoughts of a Spiderweb
Spiders appear to offload cognitive tasks to their webs, making them one of a number of species with a mind that isn’t fully confined within the head.
How Heat Kills Cells
The proteins that unravel as the temperature starts to rise turn out to be among the most vital.
Swirling Bacteria Linked to the Physics of Phase Transitions
The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.
The Secret Power of the Cell’s Waste Bin
Trash collectors in the cell moonlight at the controls of the genetic machinery.
A Map of Human History, Hidden in DNA
The computational biologist John Novembre uses our genetic code to rewrite the history of humanity.
Evolution Runs Faster on Short Timescales
Examine evolution over the course of years or centuries, and you’ll find that it progresses much more quickly than it does over geologic time.