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A room full of flu patients and no one got sick

In a striking real-world experiment, flu patients spent days indoors with healthy volunteers, but the virus never spread. Researchers found that limited coughing and well-mixed indoor air kept virus levels low, even with close contact. Age may have helped too, since middle-aged

This wild fruit is getting a CRISPR makeover

Scientists have used CRISPR to give the goldenberry a modern makeover, shrinking the plant by about a third and making it easier to farm. Goldenberries are tasty and nutritious but notoriously unruly, with bushy plants that complicate harvesting. By editing a few key genes and

When the oceans died and life changed forever

A rapid climate collapse during the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction devastated ocean life and reshuffled Earth’s ecosystems. In the aftermath, jawed vertebrates gained an unexpected edge by surviving in isolated marine refuges. Over millions of years, they diversified into many

The effect of environmental regulations on municipal bonds

Air pollution regulations in the United States are intended to protect public health, but a new study has found that they also carry an unexpected cost: higher interest rates on the bonds used by counties to fund schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. When a county falls out