Popular Science
Why do humans have tailbones?
Though it’s currently useless, the human coccyx—commonly referred to as the tailbone—remains nestled at the bottom of the spine, a ...
Strep throat making a comeback? Bacteria developing resistance to our ‘go-to’ antibiotics
Strep is generally considered a known entity—with a known, reliable treatment. Then came two serious Strep A infections in Seattle, ...
Wait, corn is a fruit? Yes—here’s the biology that explains why
We all know the is-a-tomato-a-fruit debate (correct answer: yes, but you still shouldn’t put it in a fruit salad). Now ...
‘The Intelligence Trap’: Book examines why smart people make irrational decisions
While decades of psychological research have documented humanity’s more irrational tendencies, it is only relatively recently that scientists have started ...
Sickle cell disease targeted with CRISPR therapy as ‘the only potential cure’
[F]or the first time, doctors in the United States used the gene editing tool CRISPR to attempt to remedy a ...
Can 23andMe’s consumer genetics test predict diabetes risk?
Adding to its roster of healthcare offerings, the direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe announced [March 11] that it can provide ...
Gene editing police? World Health Organization may take on the job
Who’s going to police CRISPR? That was the cry of many scientists after news broke at the end of last ...
Unhealthy sperm often overlooked as cause of lost pregnancies
Doctors often recommend women who experience recurrent pregnancy loss, usually defined as three or more losses, undergo testing to try ...
Epigenetic clues could assist crime investigations by revealing age range, lifestyle habits of suspects
[The] field of forensic epigenetics [uses] the markers that sit on top of DNA and modify it’s expression, rather than the ...
Can a blood test find your body’s internal clock
Your body has a clock—and thanks to the travails of modern life, that clock may not line up with the timing ...
Synthetic marijuana has a real problem: Nobody knows what’s in it
[Recently], more than 70 people overdosed on the synthetic marijuana known as K2 during a single 24 hour period in New Haven, ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why it’s ‘moronic’ to suggest that Homo erectus was lazy
[Y]ou’ve probably seen a headline or two (or twelve) touting a new discovery about our long extinct human relative, Homo erectus ...
When is it ok to edit the genome of a human embryo? Americans have mixed opinions
We’ve reached the point in scientific and technological advancement that editing our own genomes, or those of humans not yet ...
Editing the brain? CRISPR and gold nanoparticles could make it possible
Add this to the list of possible applications for the seemingly-magical gene editing technology CRISPR: helping people with neurological disorders edit ...
Human womb transplants are possible. But do we need them?
As gynecologist and surgeon Liza Johannesson prepped to deliver the child via cesarean section, she was nervous. Not for the ...
Patenting the genes of marine creatures and why it could matter for research
From the tiniest microbe to the biggest whale, the ocean is teeming with life. For corporations and researchers, that biodiversity is ...
How purebred dogs are helping us fight cancer in humans
Roughly a quarter of all purebred dogs die of cancer, and 45 percent of those who live past the age of ...
Viewpoint: Why California labels everything a carcinogen—and why it should stop
You may have heard that coffee gives you cancer. Or that everything gives you cancer—if you live in California. The reason: Proposition 65. It’s ...
Viewpoint: US may be losing CRISPR race against China, but FDA regulations are worth it
[H]ow did China edge out the United States to become the first to use CRISPR in humans? American researchers were, ...
Ranch fights to preserve rare pre-hybrid US chickens and their unique genetics
Every bird on [Good Shepherd Ranch] was hatched there, from an egg that was laid there, from parents that were ...
Armor of tomorrow could be derived from these 3 animals
Scientists are investigating what makes conch shells and fish scales so tough and designing their own versions. They’re even turning to materials ...
How glyphosate-resistant weeds led to Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide crisis
[In] the 1990s, Monsanto began selling a series of patented, genetically modified, “RoundUp”-ready seeds. Monsanto had altered crop seeds...to be ...
Could discovery of boron on Mars bring us closer to finding alien life?
Using data from NASA’s Curiosity rover, a team of interdisciplinary scientists has found boron in the Gale Crater. Gale was probably once a lake, and ...
Truth about genetic tests: ‘They don’t seal your fate’
Once difficult and expensive even for the most technologically advanced labs, genetic testing is fast becoming a cheap and easy ...
Anti-aging hormone boosts cognitive abilities in mice – could humans be next?
[Klotho is] a naturally occurring hormone in the body. More than two decades ago, Japanese researchers discovered that this hormone ...
Melting Greenland ice sheet could release pollution—and beneficial microbes evolved to ‘chow down’ toxins
As the Greenland ice sheet melts due to climate change, a new study in journal Environmental Letters suggests, pollution trapped inside could ooze back into ...
Independent health agencies disagree with IARC’s glyphosate cancer designation
The list of [Proposition 65] labeled substances [in California] includes marijuana smoke (but eating marijuana is fine, by California standards), ...
‘Doomsday’ arctic seed vault ‘flooded’ because of global warming? Not so fast
A failure at a fail-safe vault. The irony is delicious, but that’s not the whole story. On its website, the ...
