molecular biology
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5 Real Medical Treatments That Sound Like Sci-Fi
Modern medicine has extended our lives and reduced suffering in all kinds of ways. Many of the impactful interventions we have available today have been around for a long time, like antibiotics, most painkillers, and various forms of cancer screening. But every once in a while, scientists come up with novel treatments that jump the…
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Space Kombucha Could Help Sustain Future Colonies on Mars
If there’s one drink you should pack with you on a future trip to space, let it be kombucha. The fizzy, fermented drink has not only taken over trendy spots in Brooklyn, but it can also be found in low Earth orbit as part of an ongoing experiment of its resilience in the harsh space…
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Researchers Develop COVID Test That Uses a Smartphone to Gets Results on the Cheap
If you’re also someone who’s waited in line for hours to get a COVID test — or faced similar frustrations trying to buy them at your local drugstore — then you’re in luck. A group of scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara say they’ve developed a new kind of COVID-testing system that only…
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What Is the Most Important Scientific Development of the Last 50 Years?
There are people who argue, persuasively, that Hollywood films are worse than they used to be. Or that novels have turned inward, away from the form-breaking gestures of decades past. In fact, almost anything can be slotted into a narrative of decline — the planet, most obviously, but also (per our former president) toilets and…