Three covid rapid antigen tests displaying (left to right) invalid, positive, and negative results.
| 7 min read
Lateral flow tests for COVID-19 can be very accurate and specific when used as directed, but introducing acidic fluids can cause the tests’ detecting antibodies to clump, which may read as a positive result.

Q&A

Paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill sitting next to museum collection bones

New NAS Awards Honor Science Communication in “Post-Truth World”

illustration of a laptop with small people filling out an assessment

Q&A: Why eLife Is Doing Away with Rejections

Two agar plates superimposed on each other. One is empty while the other is growing multiple different cultured organisms, colored white, beige, and green.

Most Archaea and Bacteria Are Nameless. SeqCode Could Change That

Illustration of several warped and stretched analog clocks swirling around a central point.

It’s Not Just You: Lockdowns Had Us Living in “Blursday,” Study Says

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Can Taking a Test Now Tell You if You’ve Already Had COVID-19?

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Q&A: Whole Genomes of 150,000 Britons Reveal Novel Genetic Variants

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Same Parts of the Brain Control Processing of Dozens of Languages

A wire mesh garbage can has toppled over, spilling crumpled papers onto the ground.

Gone but Not Forgotten: Retracted COVID-19 Papers Still Cited

Photo taken from the perspective of a lab worker in a white coat and purple gloves preparing multiple fecal transplant capsules at a time.

Banking Previous Poos: Could a Transplant of Feces from Your Past Heal You?

Aerial view of crowd connected by lines

Monkeypox: What We Know (and What We Don’t)

teabag with green tag on a white background

Spilling the Tea: Insect DNA Shows Up in World’s Top Beverage

Two bonobos facing each other on a tree branch

Q&A: In Battle of the Sexes, Dominance Doesn’t Always Equal Power

a research sailboat with white sails inscribed with "tara ocean" traverses a body of water with small, rocky islands in the background

Q&A: Thousands of RNA Viruses Newly Discovered in Ocean Water

Zebrafish with fluorescent nervous system in green.

Oust the Mouse: A Plan to Reduce Mammal Use in Drug Development

A fossilized skeleton of an ancient crocodile-like organism that lived in what’s now Brazil.

Q&A: Paleontology’s Colonial Legacy

Office building near water with white roof

Q&A: A Randomized Approach to Awarding Grants

A stone statue of a medieval gatekeeper holding a spear upright. The clear sky is in the background.

Q&A: Psych and Neuro Journals Primarily Edited by American Men

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Leaping Larvae Intrigue Scientists

goldfish in tank

Researchers Train Goldfish to “Drive”

indoor chicken farm

Avian Flu Case Numbers Soar in Europe

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Image of Atul Butte.

Biomedical Informatician Atul Butte Dies at 55

An illustration showing the accumulation of amyloid plaques between nerve cells, which is the underlying cause of disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

A Gut Pathogen’s Unexpected Weapon Against Amyloid Diseases

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

Universe 25 Experiment

Two domesticated animals, a red border collie dog and horse together at sunset.

The Genes That Shaped Pets and Domesticated Livestock

Multimedia

Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Two images of U2OS cells transfected with a fluorescently labeled protein. The left panel shows AI-based analysis of transfection efficiency, with cells bounded in yellow and label marked in magenta. The right panel shows baseline fluorescence.

Leveraging AI for Analyzing Cell Transfection Efficiency

Image of small blue creatures called Nergals. Some have hearts above their heads, which signify friendship. There is one Nergal who is sneezing and losing health, which is denoted by minus one signs floating around it.
June 2025, Issue 1

Nergal Networks: Where Friendship Meets Infection

A citizen science game explores how social choices and networks can influence how an illness moves through a population.

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Explore synthetic DNA’s many applications in cancer research

Weaving the Fabric of Cancer Research with Synthetic DNA

Twist Bio 
Illustrated plasmids in bright fluorescent colors

Enhancing Elution of Plasmid DNA

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An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

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Explore new strategies for improving plasmid DNA manufacturing workflows.

Overcoming Obstacles in Plasmid DNA Manufacturing

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Products

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Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

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Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series

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Agilent Announces the Enhanced 8850 Gas Chromatograph

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Pioneering Cancer Plasticity Atlas will help Predict Response to Cancer Therapies