Budding Yeast Produce Cannabis Compounds
Biologists have taken the genes that produce cannabinoids in weed and plugged them into yeast, making rare and novel compounds more accessible. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Stories by Christopher Intagliata
Who Has "the Right Stuff" for Mars?
Humans traveling to Mars will be required to operate with a degree of autonomy human astronauts have never had, due to communication delays. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Should Robots Have a License to Kill?
Artificial intelligence experts, ethicists and diplomats debate autonomous weapons. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Warming Climate Implies More Flies—and Disease
The incidence of foodborne illness could jump in a warming world, due to an increase in housefly activity. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Light-Skin Variant Arose in Asia Independent of Europe
A new genetic study of Latin Americans provides evidence that gene variants for lighter skin color came about in Asia as well as in Europe. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Grazing Deer Alter Forest Acoustics
Deer populations have exploded in North American woodlands, changing forest ecology—and how sounds, like birdsong, travel through the trees. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Our Brains Really Remember Some Pop Music
Although millennials' memory of recent pop tunes drops quickly, their ability to identify top hits from the 1960s through 1990s remains moderately high. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Biologists Track Tweets to Monitor Birds
Conservation biologists can track the whereabouts of endangered species by the sounds they make, avoiding cumbersome trackers and tags. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Desalination Could Cause Ecological Sea Change
An environmental assessment of the nation's largest desalination plant finds mixed results. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Neandertal Spears Were Surprisingly Deadly
Javelin throwers chucking replicas of Neandertal spears were able to hit targets farther away, and with greater force than previously thought to be possible. Christopher Intagliata reports...
"Rectenna" Converts Wi-Fi to Electricity
Researchers built a small, flexible device that harvests wi-fi, bluetooth and cellular signals, and turns them into DC electricity. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Ecologists Eavesdrop with Bioacoustics
By coupling audio recordings with satellite data and camera traps, ecologists can keep their eyes—and ears—on protected tropical forests. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Saturn's Blingy Rings Are a Recent Upgrade
Though Saturn formed about 4.5 billion years ago, its rings were added relatively recently—only 100 million to 10 million years ago. Karen Hopkin reports.
Viewing This Weekend's Lunar Eclipse
A total lunar eclipse will grace the skies this Sunday, January 20—and it may or may not be red. Christopher Intagliata reports.
"Mona Lisa Effect" Not True for Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa effect is the illusion that the subject of a painting follows you with her gaze, despite where you stand. But da Vinci's famous painting doesn't have that quality. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Mistimed Migration Means Bird Death Battles
Climate change is shifting population numbers and nest building by resident and migratory birds in Europe—sometimes leading to deadly conflict. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Inhaled RNA Might Help Heal Cystic Fibrosis
Scientists are working to correct a genetic defect in cystic fibrosis patients by having them inhale RNA. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Invisible Killers Hitchhike on Native Plant Seedlings
More than a quarter of the seedlings sampled at native plant nurseries were infected with pathogens—which could hamper restoration work. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Facebook Users Value the Service More Than Investors Do
Users of the social network said they'd require payment of more than $1,000 to quit the platform for one year. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Turn Xmas Tree into Food and Medicine
Pine needles can easily be broken down into sugars as well as the building blocks of paint, adhesives and medicines. Christopher Intagliata reports.
