Sea Urchin Teeth
The sea urchin's super-sharp could inspire new nano-materials.
Baldness Treatment
Researchers are solving the genetic mystery surrounding male pattern baldness.
First Clothes Roundup
Researchers date the advent of clothing by the evolution of lice.
Asian Carp Invasion
Scientists are using DNA to track the invasion of Asian carp in the United States.
Nerves & Muscle Roundup
"Marathon" mice could lead to new therapies for muscle disorders.
Reversing Early Alzheimer’s
Scientists have erased learning and memory deficits in a mouse model of early Alzheimer's disease.
Podcast
NATURE OF INVENTION: Sea urchin teeth could inspire new nano-materials, and hornet stripes could lead to better solar technology. Also: automatic transmissions could revolutionize electric wheelchairs, and there's new research on the genetics of hair color and male pattern baldness.
Ironing Out Infections
Some organisms are better at fighting staph infections than others.
Lightning Bug Roundup
Fireflies could help doctors deliver the right dose of heparin to prevent blood clots.
Birthdate Depression
Being born in the winter could affect your biological clock – and your personality – later in life.
Crusty Microbes
A diversity of microorganisms lives in the hot rocks deep beneath the ocean floor.
Biodiversity & Health
Losing plant and animal species promotes the spread of some human diseases.
Depression & Cleanliness Roundup
Modern sanitation may result in higher rates of inflammation and depression.
Bacterial Poison Darts
Bacteria attack their neighbors using tiny poison darts.
Neanderthal Brains
Brain development in the first year of a baby's life set us apart from our extinct Neanderthal relatives.
Cancer Vaccine
The key to successful cancer vaccines of the future may lie in turning off a tumor's ability to shut down the immune system.
Gangster Birds
In the Kalahari desert, a gangster-like bird provides protection to other birds, but at a high price.
Modified Mosquito Roundup
Sterilized male mosquitoes are part of a grand experiment in biocontrol on Grand Cayman Island.
Night Light Depression
Dim light at night causes depressive symptoms in rodents.
Skin to Blood
Researchers are transforming skin cells to blood cells in the lab.
Toxic Cavefish
A toxic plant used in a traditional religious ritual is shaping the evolution of a Mexican cavefish.
Podcast
Bacterial poison darts, a new approach to cancer research, turning skin into blood, depressing night-lights and the differences between human and Neanderthal brains.
Cat Roundup
Tigers are highly endangered in the wild and the remains of over one thousand of the big cats have been seized in the past decade.