Human ancestors braved England’s ice-covered northlands 440,000 years ago
How exactly ancient toolmakers survived the harsh conditions remains a mystery
A bioengineered protein may someday treat carbon monoxide poisoning
An antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning could come from bacteria. Mice treated with a tweaked version of a bacterial protein rapidly cleared carbon monoxide from their blood, safely eliminating it …
A simple metal could solve the world’s plastic recycling problem
The future of plastic recycling may soon get much less complicated, frustrating and tedious. In a new study, Northwestern University chemists have introduced a new plastic upcycling process that can …
Can we finally recycle all of the metal in scrap cars?
Scrap vehicles contain many different metal alloys, which can be hard to recycle Marc Hill/Alamy A new way to recycle the metal from scrap cars could eliminate millions of tonnes …
House Republicans add to support for maintaining NIH budget in 2026
Both chambers of Congress have now rejected Trump’s proposed 40% cut
A cold today helps keep the COVID away
A recent bout of the common cold may be a defense against a COVID-19 infection. A study that included the nasal swabs of more than 1,000 participants assessed whether infections …
Hidden viruses in our DNA could be medicine’s next big breakthrough
You are mostly but not entirely human. If we crunch the numbers, 8 percent of your genome actually comes from viruses that got stranded there. This viral detritus is a …
The deadliest mushroom, the death cap, is still concocting new poisons
The death cap mushroom has been implicated in many people’s deaths, from Roman emperors to modern foragers Shutterstock/Tisha Razumovsky Death cap mushrooms are back in the news. Amanita phalloides has …
Vote by Dutch lawmakers threatens major primate research center
In victory for animal rights activists, research on monkeys would end in 2030
A Mars rock analysis tool proved its mettle on a chance find from Arizona
McKenzie Prillaman is a science and health journalist based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in science …