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How Genes Can Leap From Snakes to Frogs in Madagascar
The discovery of a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer draws attention to the possible roles of parasites and ecology in such changes.
Human Brains Are Hard to Study. He Grows Useful Substitutes.
With stem cell technology and lab-grown brain organoids, Sergiu Paşca seeks the causes of autism and other neuropsychiatric conditions.
Lab-Grown Human Cells Form Working Circuits in Rat Brains
Letting human brain organoids grow in animal brains could be an ethical new option for experimental studies of neurological disorders.
Machine Learning Highlights a Hidden Order in Scents
Efforts to build a better digital “nose” suggest that our perception of scents reflects both the structure of aromatic molecules and the metabolic processes that make them.
Molecule-Building Innovators Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The chemists Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless were recognized for their development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.
Geneticist Awarded Nobel Prize for Studies of Extinct Human Ancestors
Svante Pääbo has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for studying our extinct ancestors’ DNA.
What We Know About Monkeypox
Even though we’ve learned a lot about this relative of smallpox, some mysteries remain due to a lack of political will.
Biologists Use Genetic Circuits to Program Plant Roots
Using inserted genetic circuitry, synthetic biologists controlled the growth of plant roots for the first time.
How Do Fireflies Flash in Sync? Studies Suggest a New Answer.
Field research suggests a new explanation for the synchronized flashing in fireflies and confirms that a novel form of “chimeric” synchrony occurs naturally.