Feature

Viruses Target Super-Short Protein Motifs to Disrupt Host Biology

Only recently appreciated as critical components of cellular functions, unstructured stretches of amino acids called SLiMs are key to viral-host interactions.
Conceptual image of coronavirus, SARS?Cov?2 infects a human cell
spikes of white coral underwater

Great Barrier Reef Suffers Sixth Mass Bleaching in Two Decades

Listen to Extinct Crickets Chirp

Making the Most of Media Interviews

Giannina Descalzi Studies the Factors Underlying Chronic Pain

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a Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) resting on a reflective surface
Reshuffled Genomes May Explain Cephalopods’ Smarts
Sophie Fessl | May 13, 2022
In two related studies, researchers describe huge chromosomal rearrangements and about 500 novel gene clusters in the octopus, squid, and cuttlefish genomes, which they say could help explain how they evolved their extraordinary brains.
Senior woman wearing a grey pullover sitting on a bed and holding her back.
Early Inflammation Protects Against Chronic Pain, Study Finds
Alejandra Manjarrez | May 12, 2022
Human data and experiments in mice challenge the common use of anti-inflammatory drugs to treat pain.
Illustration of pink strands of RNA on a blue background
Synthetic RNA Can Build Peptides, Hinting at Life’s Beginnings
Jef Akst | May 12, 2022
Researchers engineered strands of RNA that can link amino acids together, suggesting a way that RNA and proteins may have emerged together to create the earliest forms of life.
mixing blue and pink smoke, symbolic of the muddled boundaries between sexes
Opinion: Biological Science Rejects the Sex Binary, and That’s Good for Humanity
Agustín Fuentes | May 12, 2022
Evidence from various sciences reveals that there are diverse ways of being male, female, or both. An anthropologist argues that embracing these truths will help humans flourish.
Ursula Bellugi smiling for the camera wearing a purple shirt in 2015
Ursula Bellugi, Leading Sign Language Neuroscientist, Dies at 91
Lisa Winter | May 11, 2022
Her research showed that communication via sign language is as neurologically complex as spoken language. 
close-up of an Aedes aegypti mosquito on human skin
Researchers Discover What Attracts Mosquitoes to Humans
Sophie Fessl | May 11, 2022
A brain area of Aedes aegypti responds specifically to components of human sebum, a study finds.
A colorized transmission electron microscope image of an oligodendrocyte (blue) surrounded by cells that it coated in myelin (red outlines).
Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost
Dan Robitzski | May 11, 2022
A growth factor found in the cerebrospinal fluid of young mice triggered the proliferation of myelin-making cells when injected into the brains of older mice.
Tiliqua rugosa, sleepy lizard, on reddish soil in western Australia
Researchers Probe Genetics Behind a Lizard’s Odd Immune System
Hannah Thomasy | May 10, 2022
Deletions in the sleepy lizard genome leave it without an important type of T cells found in most other vertebrates.
Metal shelves densely packed with preserved tissue specimens of various sizes, all suspended in glass containers.
Evolution of 1918 Flu Virus Traced from Century-Old Samples
Dan Robitzski | May 10, 2022
The work reveals that the pandemic flu was likely the direct predecessor of the seasonal H1N1 flu that circulated for decades.
Bat perching upside down in a cave.
Some Bats Buzz Like Hornets to Deter Predators
Natalia Mesa | May 9, 2022
The behavior is the first example of a mammal mimicking a more-dangerous species.