Nov 24, 2019 14:49 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Designer baby, anyone? A New Jersey startup company, Genomic Prediction, might be able to help you. Genomic Prediction claims to be able to use DNA testing to predict disease risk in an embryo. The idea is to study...
Nature versus nurture: how modern science is rewriting it
Nov 24, 2019 14:27 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
The question of whether it is genes or environment that largely shapes human behaviour has been debated for centuries. During the second half of the 20th century, there were two camps of scientists each believing that...
Curious Kids: why does wood crackle in a fire?
Nov 24, 2019 14:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Hi Rocco, thats a great question. I love sitting in front of a fire, listening to it crackle and pop. These noises are caused by pockets of trapped steam suddenly escaping, making a mini explosion! To know why this...
Brain activity predicts which mice will become compulsive drinkers
Nov 24, 2019 14:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science
Some individuals consume alcohol their entire adult life without developing an alcohol use disorder. Others, however, quickly transition to compulsive and problematic drinking. Can we determine what makes some people...
361-Foot asteroid '2019 UK6' to pass by Earth, NASA says
Nov 21, 2019 05:45 am UTC| Science
This year, our planet has had a number of close encounters with asteroids. Now, a 361-foot asteroid is said to pass by Earth on Wednesday, according to NASA. NASAs Center for Near-Earth Object Studies has identified the...
How gene edited white blood cells are helping fight cancer
Nov 19, 2019 02:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Science Health
For the first time in the United States, a gene editing tool has been used to treat advanced cancer in three patients and showed promising early results in a pilot phase 1 clinical trial. So far the treatment appears safe,...
Please, no more projections. What we need are predictions, and they're harder
Nov 19, 2019 02:32 am UTC| Insights & Views Science
It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. (attributed to Danish physicist Niels Bohr) The difficulty of making predictions has long been known, but the rise of the internet means that it is...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects