Policy & Ethics
Trump Seeks Big Cuts to Science Funding—Again
The president wants to cut spending at the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency, but it is not clear whether Congress will go along
Stories by Heidi Ledford
Medical & Biotech
Gene-Silencing Technology Gets First Drug Approval after 20-Year Wait
The U.S. FDA decision comes after fits and stops for RNA-interference therapies
Evolution
Debate Blooms over Anatomy of the World's First Flower
Some researchers say statistical prediction of the ancestral blossom yielded an unlikely structure
Biology
The Lost Art of Looking at Plants
Advances in genomics and imaging are reviving a fading discipline
Biology
Gut Microbes Can Shape Responses to Cancer Immunotherapy
Studies find that species diversity and antibiotics influence cutting-edge treatments
Medical & Biotech
Lights, Cameras, CRISPR: Biologists Use Gene Editing to Store Movies in DNA
Technique demonstrated in E. coli suggests way to record events
Biology
Massive Database of 182,000 Leaves Is Helping Predict Plant Family Trees
The technique could be used on everything from flowers to cells to examine the factors that influence the shapes of plant parts
Climate
Overlooked Water Loss in Plants Could Throw Off Climate Models
Errors could cause researchers to overestimate the rate of photosynthesis when water is scarce
Biology
Ancient Oak’s Youthful Genome Surprises Biologists
DNA of a 234-year-old tree has few mutations, giving weight to idea that plants protect their stem cells
The Body
Fetal Immune System Active by Second Trimester
New understanding may help reveal some causes of miscarriage
Biology
Fixing the Tomato: CRISPR Edits Correct Plant-Breeding Snafu
Geneticists harness two mutations to improve on 10,000 years of tomato domestication
Biology
Geneticists Enlist Engineered Virus and CRISPR to Battle Citrus Disease
Desperate farmers hope scientists can beat pathogen that is wrecking the US orange harvest
Biology
Century-Old Tumors Offer Rare Cancer Clues
DNA sequences from 100-year-old tumor samples could bolster childhood cancer research
Medicine
New Cholesterol Drug Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
It remains to be seen whether the treatment, which was effective in a large clinical trial, will live up to its promise
The Body
The Race to Map the Human Body--1 Cell at a Time
A host of detailed cell atlases could revolutionize understanding of cancer and other diseases
Engineering
Plant Biologists Welcome Their Robot Overlords
Old-school areas of plant biology are getting tech upgrades that herald more detailed, faster data collection
Medicine
5 Big Mysteries about CRISPR's Origins
Where did it come from? How do organisms use it without self-destructing? And what else can it do?
Policy & Ethics
U.S. Scientists Fear New Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research
A probe led by House Republicans concluded that such work is of limited value
Medicine
U.S. Drug Approvals Plummet in 2016
Data highlight a slow year for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The Body
Fat Fuels Cancer's Spread in Mice
Dietary needs of these wandering cells could prove to be an Achilles hell
