Cell division spindles self-organize like active liquid crystals—a theory that holds up

When a cell divides, it performs a feat of microscopic choreography—duplicating its DNA and depositing it into two new cells.

Choosing an IVF embryo is uncertain: A new dish design could improve what labs see

Selecting the healthiest embryo is one of the most important steps in in‑vitro fertilization (IVF), yet it remains one of the ...

No animal alive today is ‘primitive’ – why are so many still labeled that way?

We humans have long viewed ourselves as the pinnacle of evolution. People label other species as “primitive” or “ancient” and ...

Tiny marine animal reveals bacterial origin of animal defense mechanisms

Marine animals, such as the extremely simple flatworm Trichoplax, are ideal model organisms for studying the early ...
Nature

Babies at nursery shape each other’s microbiomes

The study of the gut microbiome of infants in nurseries revealed that peer-to-peer interaction during the first years of life ...
Smithsonian Magazine

An Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. But How Did Their Reign Begin? Mysterious Early Reptiles May Hold the Answer

We know the main reason that the age of the dinosaurs came to an end: an asteroid impact on the Yucatán Peninsula some 66 million years ago. But how the dinosaurs’ reign began is far less clear—and ...
Smithsonian Magazine

How Did Animals Conquer the Deep Sea? Mussels and Clams Point to Two Different Strategies

Beds of Bathymodiolus mussels provide important habitat for other deep-sea critters, including sea stars, scaleworms and limpets. NOAA Ocean Exploration. The deep sea is the large ...