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The many roles of non-coding RNAs in the cell
When scientists first cracked the genetic code, they expected a simple story: DNA makes RNA, and that RNA, known as messenger RNA, makes proteins. Proteins would do all the important work — building tissues, fighting infections, digesting food. But when the DNA of our genome was finally sequenced, researchers encountered a head-scratcher: The 20,000-plus genes
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Can we fight climate change by storing CO2 in the ocean?
Close to the eastern tip of Canada, in Nova Scotia’s picturesque Halifax harbor, a local firm has joined the fight against climate change. There, Planetary Technologies has figured out how to turn the cooling water of a power plant into a tool against global warming, by enhancing its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the
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The troubling rise of family estrangement
Adult children vs. parents, siblings vs. siblings — calling quits on one’s kin seems increasingly common. In a 2025 YouGov poll of 4,395 US adults, nearly 4 in 10 respondents said they “no longer have a relationship with” one or more immediate family members. An episode of the Oprah Podcast on the “culture of estrangement”
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Science of tea’s compounds and flavors affected by processing
How about a cuppa? Tea is the world’s most popular drink, except for plain old water. Whether we’re talking matcha, Earl Grey or oolong, it’s all made from the leaves of one species of plant, Camellia sinensis. (Any other tea-like brew is technically a tisane or herbal tea.) That one tea plant yields teas in
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The crazy nests built by leaf-cutter ants
The first time Marcela Cosarinsky saw a nest of Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants, it was the late 1990s and she was in an Argentinian grassland studying termites. Local children showed her a mound of earth nearly broad enough to park a Jeep on, crowned with chimney-like tubes. She was shocked that insects could build something
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What Happens When Light Goes Boom? Part 4: What Brad Bradington Is Good For
(This is the final part of a series on Cherenkov radiation — the “light boom.” Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 first.) So we know what Cherenkov radiation is. We know how it works. We know that Pavel Cherenkov spent three years poking a glowing bottle of water before anyone believed him. Now:
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“Immature” Lunar Soil Could Be Suitable for Roadways on the Moon
Between the Artemis Program, the ESA’s Moon Village, and the Sino-Russian International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), the next step in space exploration is clear: We’re going back to the Moon, and this time, to stay! This plan requires significant investment, research, development, and strategies adapted to lunar conditions. In particular, mission planners are concerned about
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What Happens When Light Goes Boom? Part 3: Brad Bradington Sprints
(This is Part 3 of a series on Cherenkov radiation — the “light boom.” Read Part 1 and Part 2 first.) We have our material — the crowd at the red carpet. We have our star particle — Brad Bradington. We have our paparazzi. Let’s watch what happens. Brad steps out of his limo and
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How a Black Hole and a Shredded Star Could Light Up a Galaxy
In 2014, a strange cloudy object called G2 made a close approach to Sagittarius A*, (Sag A*) the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers were pretty excited, partly because they thought it might get torn apart by Sag A*’s intense gravitational pull. That didn’t happen, and the event turned
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Small Trojan Asteroids Defy Expectations
Understanding the beginning of the solar system requires us to look at some very strange places. One such place is at the so-called “Trojan” asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit in front of and behind it. But for a long time, these cosmic time capsules have held a mystery for astronomers: why are they color-coded? The
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