Science

Imagine if three times as much grain could be obtained from the same amount of wheat plants as is currently possible, using the same amount of land, water and fertilizer. Well, that could soon be possible, thanks to a new genetic discovery.

They're not serving sushi on the Moon – yet – but if or when they do, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and DASSAI want sake on the table. To attain this quaffable goal, the companies are sending a rice fermentation experiment to the International Space Station (ISS).

A study has for the first time homed in on the specific combination of temperature, acidity, and microbes involved in the fermentation process for cocoa beans. They propose an ideal microbial formulation for developing the flavors of fine chocolate.

Even in death, cells leave a trace. Scientists have discovered a microscopic “Footprint of Death” that not only helps the immune system clean up but can also give viruses a new way to spread infection.

In a groundbreaking study, scientists have cultivated and then awoken more than 100 new viruses found within different human gut microbes, providing a remarkable look at our bacteria and forms the very first living model of the "gut virome."

Oceanic manta rays make extreme dives of more than 1,200 meters – three-quarters of a mile – but it's not to feed. Instead, the mantas are calibrating their own kind of Google Maps as soon as they find themselves out beyond the continental shelf.

A new study found stranded dolphins show brain damage eerily similar to that of people with Alzheimer's. Just like people with dementia sometimes wander far from home, scientists think dolphins with Alzheimer's might get confused at sea.

By breaking the rules of atomic order, scientists have created a material unlike any seen before. Nine metals share a single atom-thin sheet, their layers dissolved into a patchwork of possibility. The result could redefine how we design materials.

Input devices such as computer mice may be rigid for now, but thanks to new hydraulic haptic tech they could someday be soft n' squishy. And that's not all … they may also "throb" in our hand to provide tactile feedback as we use them.

We've all experienced defeat at some point – losing a game, a potential new job, a debate. Now, a new study has found that the brain may learn from losing to others, with a specific group of neurons tied to defeat that then changes our future behavior.