Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Briefing: Protein sequencing advance offers new insights into life's foundations

Strategic angle: Proteins, one of the smallest building blocks of life on Earth, hold promise for answering some of biology's biggest questions.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: A 'consortium' of bacteria cooperates to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can't stomach

Strategic angle: Plastic trash has reached the world's most remote locations, from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the summit of Everest.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Wave of Dust Rolls Through Texas

Strategic angle: An advancing cold front kicked up a sharp line of sand and other small particles that swept over the high plains.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Targeted alpha therapy: One compound holds promise for unified cancer care

Strategic angle: ORNL is a leader in developing advanced radiotherapies and providing essential radioisotopes.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Dallas-Fort Worth has untapped innovation potential, study says

Strategic angle: A new study reveals that the Dallas-Fort Worth area possesses the necessary elements to become a national innovation leader but is not fully leveraging its capabilities.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: New material can collect clean and safe drinking water from the air

Strategic angle: Norwegian researchers explore atmospheric water generators to address global water resource challenges.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Bull sharks form social relationships with specific 'friends,' research reveals

A new study shows that bull sharks prefer specific social partners rather than mixing randomly.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Research reveals hidden ocean heat waves threatening South China Sea ecosystems

Strategic angle: The South China Sea faces growing threats from subsurface marine heat waves that could impact its rich biodiversity and fisheries.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Researchers explore new ways to neutralize germs using light-activated nanomaterials

Strategic angle: At Empa, researchers are developing innovative methods to combat harmful bacteria and viruses using advanced nanomaterials.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: How Edvard Munch's painting 'The Scream' might look in 300 years' time

Strategic angle: Exploring the future of Edvard Munch's iconic artwork and the impact of time on its appearance.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Natural textile fibers may persist for more than a century in lake sediments

Strategic angle: Natural fibers like cotton and wool, often seen as sustainable, have been found preserved in a U.K. lake for over a century, challenging biodegradation assumptions.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Light-activated material offers new approach to carbon dioxide conversion

Strategic angle: Scientists have developed a new material that can use sunlight and water to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, paving the way for sustainable fuel and chemical production.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Using cow dung for sustainable carbon dioxide capture

Strategic angle: Exploring innovative methods to combat climate change through natural resources.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Decline in Japanese chum salmon linked to climate change

Strategic angle: Japanese chum salmon populations are dwindling, prompting increased reliance on imports.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Scientists create a new state of matter at room temperature using light and nanostructures

Strategic angle: Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have engineered a supersolid by manipulating light and matter interactions.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: The cactus on your desk is an evolution speed machine

Strategic angle: New research reveals that cacti can rapidly create new species, challenging previous beliefs about plant evolution.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: AI model predicts chemical effects on gene expression, speeding drug discovery

Strategic angle: A new AI model offers insights into gene expression changes, potentially transforming drug discovery processes.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Why models and longitudinal data on adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions must come together

Strategic angle: An interdisciplinary team of authors from Canada, Austria, the U.S. and Germany has outlined how immuno-epidemiology and individual decision-making on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can be understood jointly in the future.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Space Force overhauls buying structure with new mission portfolios

Strategic angle: New structure gives ‘Portfolio Acquisition Executives’ authority over funding, requirements and integration across major space missions.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Nest-building birds help disperse cotton further than wind, study suggests

Strategic angle: A study reveals that birds significantly contribute to the dispersal of wild cotton, surpassing the role of wind.

Editorial Staff Mar 17