Science

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Jason Crawford

How Arc Institute is bringing science into the century of biology

Stephen Johnson

A vibrant graphic illustration featuring a large leafy plant with integrated plant sensors, comic-style speech bubbles containing exclamation marks, and a round bubble depicting ants, set against a blue textured background.

Agriculture

Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers

Using sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses like heat, light, or attack.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

Archaeology

Ancient human’s genome sequenced from DNA in cave dirt

Researchers have sequenced the genome of one of the ancient humans who lived in Satsurblia Cave 25,000 years ago using samples of cave dirt.

Kristin Houser

Oceans

Rarely seen glass octopus caught on film

An underwater robot has recorded stunning footage of a glass octopus, an almost completely transparent cephalopod rarely caught on film.

Kristin Houser

Food

World’s first lab-grown chocolate made in Switzerland

Swiss researchers have developed a way to make lab-grown chocolate, using a single cocoa bean to create unlimited chocolate.

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

Disease-resistant pigs may be heading to farms soon

Using gene editing, researchers created disease-resistant pigs that could save the pork industry billions of dollars every year.

Kristin Houser

Series| Just Might Work

Is DMT the best new treatment for depression?

7:08

Psychedelic therapy could bring the ancient healing powers of drugs like DMT into mental health clinics.

Stephen Johnson

Biology

Anyone can now make mouse-human chimeras

A newly published how-to guide for making mouse-human chimeras could lead to treatment breakthroughs for countless diseases.

Kristin Houser

Biology

Mouse embryos with beating hearts grown from stem cells

Mouse embryos with muscles, blood vessels, and beating hearts have been grown from stem cells — bringing lab-grown organs closer to reality.

Kristin Houser

DIY

Kids build DIY microscope from LEGO & cheap phone parts

A DIY microscope made out of LEGO bricks and smartphone lenses could be a powerful learning tool, teaching kids the basics of microscopy.

Kristin Houser

Animals

Hippos in tracking study unexpectedly contract anthrax

A study into the movement of hippos led to new research on anthrax outbreaks when some of the animals wearing GPS trackers contracted the disease.

Kristin Houser

Biology

3D-printed liver tissue may be first step to lab-grown organs

A NASA challenge designed to accelerate tissue engineering has announced two winning teams, both of which used 3D bioprinting to create human liver tissue.

Kristin Houser

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