Hacking Trees to Bring Back the American Chestnut

A researcher in a safety harness pollinates an American chestnut tree from a lift. Another researcher is on the other side of the lift and appears to be taking notes. The tree has bags over some of its branches, presumably to control the pollen that gets in. The lift has a grey platform and orange arm.

“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” is playing on the radio now in the Northern Hemisphere which begs the question, “What happened to the American chestnut?” Would you be surprised …read more Continue reading Hacking Trees to Bring Back the American Chestnut

New intelligence model could upend biology, genetics, medicine and AI

These are some absolutely wild ideas, so before we get started, it’s important to know that Michael Levin is no fringe scientist or crackpot. He’s a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, as well as the Tufts Center for Regenerativ… Continue reading New intelligence model could upend biology, genetics, medicine and AI

Resurrecting the mammoth: Elephant breakthrough gets us a step closer

We’re a step closer to seeing a live woolly mammoth walking the Earth for the first time in 4,000 years. Colossal Biosciences, a company dedicated to the controversial-but-unquestionably-cool goal of resurrecting extinct species, has now announced a ma… Continue reading Resurrecting the mammoth: Elephant breakthrough gets us a step closer

Synthetic biology breakthrough fixes CO2 from the air better than nature

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute have developed a synthetic pathway that can capture CO2 from the air more efficiently than in nature, and shown how to implement it into living bacteria. The technique could help make biofuels and other products i… Continue reading Synthetic biology breakthrough fixes CO2 from the air better than nature

Cyborg computer with living brain organoid aces machine learning tests

Scientists have grown a tiny brain-like organoid out of human stem cells, hooked it up to a computer, and demonstrated its potential as a kind of organic machine learning chip, showing it can quickly pick up speech recognition and math predictions.Cont… Continue reading Cyborg computer with living brain organoid aces machine learning tests

Famous Queen track rocks insulin cells into action

There’s no doubt that a lot of people would say, perhaps a little hyperbolically, that rock and roll saved their lives. Now, new research has shown that the music just might be able to serve as a literal life saver for diabetics.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Famous Queen track rocks insulin cells into action

Famous Queen track rocks insulin cells into action

There’s no doubt that a lot of people would say, perhaps a little hyperbolically, that rock and roll saved their lives. Now, new research has shown that the music just might be able to serve as a literal life saver for diabetics.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Famous Queen track rocks insulin cells into action

This clever material made from fungi could save your home in a fire

Scientists often talk about fungi in ‘iceberg’ terms, in that what you see above the surface is a small fraction of what lies beneath. Dig into the dirt below a mushroom cup and you’re likely to find a vast network of mycelium, the nutrients and commun… Continue reading This clever material made from fungi could save your home in a fire