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In experiments dubbed the Random Genome Project, researchers have integrated DNA strands with random sequences into yeast and mouse cells to find the default transcriptional state of their genomes.
The discovery of 285-million-year-old fossils of intricately patterned animal scales indicates that evolutionary tinkering of armoured skin started at the dawn of life on dry land as aquatic vertebrates adapted for terrestrial survival.
It has been argued that human culture rests on a unique ability to learn from others more than we could possibly learn alone in a lifetime. Two studies show that we share this ability with bumblebees and chimpanzees.
Diamond layers can help to dissipate the heat generated by high-power semiconductor devices. This effect has now been enhanced by adding layers of materials and engineering their crystal-lattice vibrations to be compatible at the interfaces.
A single gene in astrocytes can constrain repetitive behaviours, indicating that these cells are regulators of behavioural disruption in conditions such as Huntington’s disease and obsessive–compulsive disorder.
By adapting a device designed to create extremely high pressures into one that can sense magnetic fields, researchers have obtained evidence that a hydrogen-rich material is a superconductor, eliminating long-standing doubts.
The molecules of liquid crystals and proteins can form liquid-like condensates, but such a phenomenon had not been observed for supramolecular polymers, which are held together by non-covalent bonds — until now.
The lack of a tail is one thing that separates apes — including humans — from other primates. Insertion of a short DNA sequence into a gene that controls tail development could explain tail loss in the common ancestor of apes.
Small solvent molecules have been found to enable a previously unknown ion-transport mechanism in battery electrolytes, speeding up charging and increasing performance at low temperatures.
Active neurons can stimulate the clearance of their own metabolic waste by driving changes to ion gradients in the surrounding fluid and by promoting the pulsation of nearby blood vessels.
Reciprocal cooperation can be advantageous, but why it is more common in humans than in other social animals is a puzzle. A modelling and experimental study pinpoints the conditions needed for reciprocity to evolve.
Implantable electric pacemakers save millions of lives worldwide, but they aren’t perfect. A proof-of-concept study shows that using light to regulate a heartbeat might be a better option than existing strategies.
The afterglow of a long burst of γ-rays suggests that the events leading to these explosions can be sizeable sources of some of the Universe’s rare isotopes — and that classifications of γ-ray bursts are too simplistic.
A method for configuring light-trapping devices promises better optical nanodevices by amplifying light and enhancing the emission efficiency of luminescent nanomaterials — without the need for complex technology upgrades.
Mammals make sounds when air flow causes paired tissue folds in their voice box to oscillate. However, such air flow in the baleen group of whales takes an unusual path, enabling them to make sounds in a previously unknown way.
It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can alter the immune system in ways that persist long after quitting the habit.
A big-data analysis shows that men are starkly over-represented in online images, and that gender bias is stronger in images compared with text. Such images could influence enduring gender biases in our offline lives.
