Living machines can now self-replicate

Plus: The omicron variant, psychedelics' potential, a dinosaur's weird weapon and more

To view this email as a web page, go here.

12/05/2021 This tiny, sizzling exoplanet could be made of molten iron A newly discovered exoplanet that whips around its star in less than eight hours is smaller than Earth, as dense as iron and hot enough to melt. Read More Can psychedelics meet their potential for treating mental health disorders? Psychedelics hold lots of promise as treatments for mental health disorders like PTSD and depression. But the drugs still face hurdles. Read More What we know and don’t know about the omicron coronavirus variant The new omicron variant has lots of mutations and sparked a surge of cases in South Africa, but researchers still don’t know a lot about it. Read More The Southern Ocean is still swallowing large amounts of humans’ carbon dioxide emissions A 2018 study suggested the ocean surrounding Antarctica might be taking up less CO₂ than previously thought, but new data suggest it is still a carbon sink. Read More This dinosaur had a weapon shaped like an Aztec war club on its tail The flat and spiky tail club of a newly discovered ankylosaur was unique, even for this often weirdly armored group of dinosaurs. Read More SPONSORED Calling young global leaders! Join us at Yale this summer for a two-week STEM experience, with high school students from 50 U.S. states and 150+ countries. https://globalscholars.yale.edu/sciencenews    Ancient footprints suggest a mysterious hominid lived alongside Lucy’s kind A previously unknown hominid species may have left its marks in muddy ash about 3.66 million years ago in what is now East Africa.   Read More Tiny living machines called xenobots can create copies of themselves When clusters of frog cells known as xenobots form a Pac-Man shape, they are especially efficient at replicating in a new way, researchers say. Read More A sailor’s story captures the impact of rising serious fungal infections “My first thought was, I must have some sort of cancer. I’m only 31…. I’m way too young for this.”  It wasn’t cancer. It was a fungal infection.  Read More Merck’s COVID-19 pill may soon be here. How well will it work? Once hailed as a potential game changer, more complete data now reveal drawbacks of the drug.   Read More Here’s the chemistry behind marijuana’s skunky scent The heady bouquet that wafts off of fresh weed is actually a cocktail of hundreds of fragrant compounds. Read More Privacy policy  |  Update Profile  | Manage Subscriptions  |   Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Society for Science 1719 N Street NW Washington, DC, 20036, US