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Biology
sleep
Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof.
Studies of sleep are usually neurological. But some of nature’s simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved for metabolic reasons, long before brains even existed.
Quantized Columns
Can Machines Control Our Brains?
Advances in brain-computer interface technology are impressive, but we’re not close to anything resembling mind control.
genomics
Scientists Catch Jumping Genes Rewiring Genomes
Transcription factors that act throughout the genome can arise from mashups of transposable elements inserted into established genes.
molecular biology
DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved
New work shows that histones, long treated as boring spools for DNA, sit at the center of the origin story of eukaryotes and continue to play important roles in evolution and disease.
molecular biology
Researchers Read the Sugary ‘Language’ on Cell Surfaces
Glycans, the complex sugars that stud cellular surfaces, are like a language that life uses to mediate vital interactions. Researchers are learning how to read their meaning.
immunology
A Backdoor Lets the Immune System Monitor the Brain
A newfound hub of immune system activity at the back of the brain solves a century-old puzzle.
genomics
DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists
The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA.
neuroscience
The Brain ‘Rotates’ Memories to Save Them From New Sensations
Some populations of neurons simultaneously process sensations and memories. New work shows how the brain rotates those representations to prevent interference.
genomics
New Genomic Study of Placenta Finds Deep Links to Cancer
A patchwork of genomic differences in the placenta may explain the organ’s “live fast, die young” strategy and its connections to cancer.