Putting a computer inside someone’s brain used to feel like the edge of science fiction. Today, it’s a reality. Academic and commercial groups are testing “brain-computer interface” devices to enable people with disabilities to function more independently. Yet Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, has put this technology front and center in debates about safety, ethics and … Read more
A puppy has spontaneously regrown his jawbone after part of it was surgically removed because of a cancerous tumor. It is believed to be the first reported case of a dog regenerating its mandible. Veterinarians at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service first diagnosed Tyson, a 3-month-old French bulldog, with … Read more
Several children born with a rare, inherited form of deafness can now hear thanks to two new gene therapies, clinical trial results show. Both therapies target the gene for otoferlin, a protein in the inner ear that lets nerve cells translate vibrations from sound into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the brain. Mutations … Read more
Why do common shrews live for only two years, while bowhead whales survive for two centuries? And could the answer give us hints as to how to extend our own, human life spans? The maximum life span of each species is estimated using the age of its longest-living member, and these vary by orders of … Read more
Editor’s Note: Regular readers of this column know we never pass up the chance to share a story about our beloved water bears. 🙂 For the first time, scientists have figured out how tardigrades — some of the toughest creatures on the planet — mate. These tiny, hardy critters have few obvious differences between males … Read more
Ocean pout live in frigid waters from Labrador in Canada to North Carolina and have evolved a blood protein that serves as antifreeze. Name: Ocean pout (Zoarces americanus) Where it lives: Western Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Labrador in Canada to North Carolina, in waters from near the shore to depths of almost 1,300 feet (400 … Read more
Scientists have unearthed 188 previously unknown types of CRISPR systems buried in the genomes of simple microorganisms. Best known as a powerful gene-editing tool, CRISPR actually comes from an inbuilt defense system found in bacteria and simple microbes called archaea. CRISPR systems include pairs of “molecular scissors” called Cas enzymes, which allow microbes to cut … Read more
Some marine worms have developed a strange reproduction strategy: They essentially grow a second worm on their rear ends, head and all. This bizarre twin then breaks off and swims away to mate with other swimming butts of the opposite sex. In a study published Nov. 22 in Scientific Reports, researchers described exactly how Japanese … Read more
A 64-year-old man got a medical checkup after his tongue began sprouting green “hairs.” The bizarre-looking fuzz turned out to be caused by a fairly common and harmless condition known as hairy tongue. The patient’s tongue had turned green about two weeks before he visited the clinic, shortly after he had completed a course of … Read more
Two children who experienced intense, insatiable hunger that drove them to overeat have rare, never-before-seen genetic mutations that interfere with leptin, a key hormone that helps tell the body when it is full, a new case report says. After white fat cells make leptin, it plugs into the brainstem and hypothalamus, brain regions that help … Read more
