Science

Scientists have manipulated spirulina, a microscopic plant and food supplement, to travel through people in response to magnetic signals. The biohybrid robot could one day carry drugs to specific parts of the body, minimizing side effects. What’s more, the robot—and its magnetic coat—appear to kill cancer cells.

A century after they were discovered killing bacteria in the feces of World War I soldiers, the viruses known as bacteriophages, or simply phages, are drawing new attention for the role they might play within the human body. Phages have been found most everywhere, from oceans to soils. Now, a study suggests that people absorb…

Cattle and other livestock may have boosted inequality in Old World societies, including ancient Egypt

Few things may be tackier than reversible garments, but a team of engineers has invented a new fabric that could be—literally—both the hottest and the coolest thing in clothing. The synthetic fabric either warms or cools the wearer, depending on which side faces the body. Researchers are already trying to commercialize the first-of-its-kind invention, which…

The popular claim that women in their fertile days prefer men with more masculine faces may not be true. That’s the conclusion of the largest study to analyze how sex hormones influence women’s preference for men’s faces.

3D printing has taken the world by storm, but it currently works best with plastic and porous steel—materials too weak for hard-core applications. Now, researchers have come up with a way to 3D print tough and flexible stainless steel, an advance that could lead to faster and cheaper ways to make everything from rocket engines…

When it comes to measuring how round the electron is, physicists hate uncertainty. Much depends on the most precise measurement possible, including a potential answer to a major scientific puzzle: why the universe contains any matter at all.

When Neandertals mated with modern humans, they shared more than an intimate moment and their own DNA. They also gave back thousands of ancient African gene variants that Eurasians had lost when their ancestors swept out of Africa in small bands, perhaps 60,000 to 80,000 years ago. Restored to their lineage, this diversity may have…

Next month, a lavish museum will open its doors in Washington D.C., just a stone’s throw from the Smithsonian castle and the U.S. Capitol. Flanking its doors are 12-meter-tall bronze panels inscribed with Hebrew text from the Book of Genesis recounting God’s creation of the universe