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Learning to better understand bone-like minerals

A University of California San Diego research team has found a better way to understand and stabilize hydroxyapatite, the calcium phosphate mineral that makes up much of our teeth and bones. By adding tiny amounts of europium, a rare-earth element that mimics calcium, the team

A thermal camera trick could let LIGO see twice as far

There's a nice kind of irony buried in this story: One of the most sensitive instruments ever built, capable of measuring distortions smaller than the width of a proton, has been quietly held back by something as mundane as heat. And the fix, it turns out, is not some exotic

How an embryo draws the line between body and germline

Every embryo of an organism that reproduces sexually faces an early and consequential decision: which of its cell lineages will make up the mortal body, and which will become the germline, the lineage that eventually makes eggs or sperm and carries genetic information to the

Bacteria may identify a virus without recognizing its DNA

When a virus enters a cell, its top priority is to replicate its genome rapidly, creating new viruses to infect elsewhere. The host has the opposite priority: to destroy the virus, ideally before it can do any harm. Biology has evolved diverse tactics for viral recognition and

Uncovering the structure of the poxvirus 'portal complex'

Poxviruses have a long history in human disease as well as medicine: The first-ever vaccine was developed to protect against smallpox, which has since been eradicated. Despite this, scientists still don't fully understand how poxviruses infect and replicate inside our cells.

Italy's Po River valley on drought alert

Italian authorities raised the drought alert level to "high" Thursday in the Po Valley, home to the country's longest river, because of worsening conditions and unfavorable weather forecasts.

Image: Starburst galaxy Centaurus A

In this July 6, 2026, image, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system.