Photograph of tan rock with two diagonal veins of lighter rock on either side. In the tan rock are several small, irregular spots of sand-colored rock ringed with dark bluish-greenish rock. These spots’ chemical composition was studied and found to contain minerals that, given Mars’s expected environment billions of years ago, could have been produced by microbes.

| 5 min read

Martian Minerals Point to Possible Signs of Past Life, Researchers Say

NASA’s Perseverance rover found two chemicals on rocks in a Martian crater that could have been produced by microbes.

Astronaut Suni Williams displays production packs containing genetically engineered yeast and edible media for incubation to activate yeast growth.

| 7 min read

Designer Microbes Aid Space Exploration Efforts

| 4 min read

Bacterial Genetics Could Help Researchers Block Interplanetary Contamination

Mars

Mars Has a Lake of Liquid Water: Study

Ashley Yeager | | 2 min read

Organic Compounds Found in Martian Soil

Sukanya Charuchandra | | 2 min read

Researchers Grow Veggies in Space

Ashley Yeager | | 4 min read

Atlas of Mars by Giovanni Schiaparelli, made in 1888. Note that this is a South-Up map; the South Pole is on top.

Fake News: Mars Edition, circa 1877

Diana Kwon | | 2 min read

Search for Life on the Red Planet

Diana Kwon | | 10+ min read

astronaut on red landscape

Infographic: The Hazards of Life on Mars

Diana Kwon | | 2 min read

Mars Simulation Concludes

Ashley P. Taylor | | 2 min read

Surface of Mars Hostile to Microbes

Bob Grant | | 2 min read

Microbes Persist in Super-Salty Conditions

Tanya Lewis | | 3 min read

Page 1 of 3 - 26 Total Items

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Photo of John Calhoun crouches within his rodent utopia-turned-dystopia

Universe 25 Experiment

A series of rodent experiments showed that even with abundant food and water, personal space is essential to prevent societal collapse, but Universe 25's relevance to humans remains disputed.

Image of a collage with human hands working with desktop icons in a collage style.

q.e.d: An AI Tool for Smarter Manuscript Review

A team of researchers developed q.e.d, an AI-powered system designed to deliver rigorous and constructive feedback on scientific manuscripts in minutes.

A brown dog stares at a spoon of peanut butter in front of its face with wide eyes.

Why Do Dogs Love Peanut Butter?

The reason dogs beg, sit, stay, and shake for peanut butter could be both evolutionarily wired and learned behavior.

A depiction of gut microbes in different colors inside the intestines.

Criticism of Autism-Gut Microbiome Research Sparks Pushback

Some scientists argued that autism-gut microbiome research is rife with conceptual and methodological flaws, from mouse to human studies. Microbiome researchers disagree.

Multimedia

Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Explore the latest in cell culture supplies, from tried and tested classics to cutting-edge innovative products.

Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Explore the latest in cell culture supplies, from tried and tested classics to cutting-edge innovative products.

December digest cover image of a wooden sculpture comprised of multiple wooden neurons that form a seahorse.

December 2025, Issue 1

Wooden Neurons: An Artistic Vision of the Brain

A neurobiologist, who loves the morphology of cells, turns these shapes into works of art made from wood.

View this Issue

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Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Explore the latest in cell culture supplies, from tried and tested classics to cutting-edge innovative products.

Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Explore the latest in cell culture supplies, from tried and tested classics to cutting-edge innovative products.

Abstract wireframe sphere with colorful dots and connecting lines representing the complex cellular and molecular interactions within the tumor microenvironment.

Exploring the Inflammatory Tumor Microenvironment

Within the tumor microenvironment, networks of cells and molecular signals form a dynamic landscape that drives disease progression.

An image of a DNA sequencing spectrum with a radial blur filter applied.

A Comprehensive Guide to Next-Generation Sequencing

Individual NGS methods come with their own pros and cons, but automation optimization solutions exist for all NGS workflows.

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BRANDTECH® Scientific Announces Strategic Partnership with Copia Scientific to Strengthen Sales and Service of the BRAND® Liquid Handling Station (LHS)

This partnership will enable both companies to reach a broader range of customers, including those with more complex and specialized workflows

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Enter Our 2026 Top Innovations Contest

Submit a cutting-edge product or technology for the chance to be recognized as one of The Scientist’s 2026 Top Innovations.

Biotium Expands Tyramide Signal Amplification Portfolio with Brighter and More Stable Dyes for Enhanced Spatial Imaging

Biotium's new TyraMax™ Amplification Dyes and Kits are available with the widest selection of colors for spatial analysis

LabVantage Solutions Awarded $22.3 Million U.S Customs and Border Protection Contract to Deliver Next-Generation Forensic LIMS

Ten-year Agreement to Provide a Secure, AI-enabled Forensic Laboratory Information Management System Supporting DHS Forensic, Scientific, and Testing Services