Science

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Jason Crawford

How Arc Institute is bringing science into the century of biology

Stephen Johnson

A vibrant graphic illustration featuring a large leafy plant with integrated plant sensors, comic-style speech bubbles containing exclamation marks, and a round bubble depicting ants, set against a blue textured background.

Agriculture

Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers

Using sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses like heat, light, or attack.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

A swarm of wild bees on the trunk of a tree.

Animals

The underappreciated benefits of wild bees

The plight of wild bees has largely been overshadowed by concern about threats to domestic bees. Many people don't even know the difference.

Ula Chrobak | Knowable Magazine

a close up of astrocytes, shown as red streaks, in the brains of mice

Neuroscience

Scientists discover a new kind of brain cell

A newly discovered brain cell that appears to be a hybrid of the two other primary types could shake up the world of neuroscience.

Kristin Houser

An ant is sitting on a piece of glass, attracted by honey.

Biology

Australian ant honey inhibits tough pathogens, new research shows

Honeypot ant honey may help develop our arsenal of effective antibacterial and antifungal treatments, which are increasingly vital.

Nural Cokcetin and Kenya Fernandes and Danny Ulrich and Andrew Dong and Dee Carter

Physics

The physics of why the first clock in America failed

When the first Dutch-built pendulum clock was brought to the Americas, it failed to keep accurate time on the continents of the new world.

Ethan Siegel

Oceans

2023 report on Great Barrier Reef: “The story is more complicated than the headlines.”

Yes, the Great Barrier Reef has rebounded beyond our expectations. But now the heat is back on and it's time to act.

David Wachenfeld and Daniela Ceccarelli and Mike Emslie

A white toilet with a blue background, featuring a slippery toilet bowl.

3D Printing

Ultra slippery toilet bowl stays clean forever

A new slippery toilet bowl developed in China could help conserve water and keep commodes effortlessly clean.

Kristin Houser

A picture of a rice plant and a picture of a rice plant.

Biology

Scientists bioengineer plants to have an animal-like immune system

Scientists have bioengineered a hybrid molecule by fusing components from an animal's and a plant's adaptive immune system.

Peter Rogers

Biology

Breakthrough creates stem cells without any “memories”

A new method for creating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells includes a memory reset that puts the cells in a more embryonic-like state.

Kristin Houser

a magnified row of the silicon boxes in the molecular test

Inventions

“Light sculpting” chip can rapidly test for thousands of diseases

Stanford researchers have developed a new type of molecular test that works without a cumbersome amplification step.

Kristin Houser

Physics

New physics? Ultra-precise measurement in particle physics confounds scientists

For electrons, the predictions of the Standard Model agree with measurements. But this isn't the case for the muon, the electron's cousin.

Don Lincoln

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