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Biology

Latest Articles

Nikta Fakhri looks at a test tube.
Q&A

Starfish Whisperer Develops a Physical Language of Life

By Charlie Wood
January 11, 2023
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Nikta Fakhri is adapting and extending concepts from physics to describe how tiny biological components give rise to living organisms.

An African army ant queen and worker against a white background, emphasizing the huge difference in their sizes
aging

Ants Live 10 Times Longer by Altering Their Insulin Responses

By Viviane Callier
January 10, 2023
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Queen ants live far longer than genetically identical workers. Researchers are learning what their longevity secrets could mean for aging in other species.

Illustration of asteroids in space that are interconnected into a structure like that of the amino acid glycine.
explainers

Inside Ancient Asteroids, Gamma Rays Made Building Blocks of Life

By John Rennie +1 authors
Allison Parshall
January 4, 2023
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A new radiation-based mechanism adds to the ways that amino acids could have been made in space and brought to the young Earth.

2022 in Review

The Year in Biology

By John Rennie
December 21, 2022
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Momentum for new ideas in Alzheimer’s research joined advances in neuroscience, developmental biology and origin-of-life studies to make 2022 a memorable year of biological insights.

Holly Moeller walks along Campus Point Beach.
Q&A

She Finds Keys to Ecology in Cells That Steal From Others

By Veronique Greenwood
December 19, 2022
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The ecologist Holly Moeller studies microorganisms that expand their range by absorbing organelles and gaining new metabolic talents from their prey.

Illustration in which a forest scene is mirrored in a person’s right eye while the left eye shows a clock.
neuroscience

How the Brain Distinguishes Memories From Perceptions

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
December 14, 2022
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The neural representations of a perceived image and the memory of it are almost the same. New work shows how and why they are different.

neuroscience

What Causes Alzheimer’s? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
December 8, 2022
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After decades in the shadow of the reigning model for Alzheimer’s disease, alternative explanations are finally getting the attention they deserve.

neuroscience

The Brain Uses Calculus to Control Fast Movements

By Kevin Hartnett
November 28, 2022
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Researchers discover that to sharpen its control over precision maneuvers, the brain uses comparisons between control signals — not the signals themselves.

A detailed scan of a zebra fish as seen from above.
developmental biology

The Gut Microbiome Helps Social Skills Develop in the Brain

By Joanna Thompson
November 15, 2022
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New research in fish suggests that gut microbes can have a crucial early influence on the brain’s social development.


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