Quanta’s Most Popular Biology Stories of 2021

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser GENOMICS | ALL TOPICS   DNA of Giant 'Corpse Flower' Parasite Surprises Biologists By CHRISTIE WILCOX The bizarre genome of the world's most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA. Read the article NEUROSCIENCE   The Brain Doesn't Think the Way You Think It Does By JORDANA CEPELEWICZ Familiar categories of mental functions such as perception, memory and attention reflect our experience of ourselves, but they are misleading about how the brain works. More revealing approaches are emerging. Read the article SLEEP   Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof. By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD Studies of sleep are usually neurological. But some of nature's simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved for metabolic reasons, long before brains even existed. Read the article NEUROSCIENCE   Brain's 'Background Noise' May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries By ELIZABETH LANDAU By digging out signals hidden within the brain's electrical chatter, scientists are getting new insights into sleep, aging and more. Read the blog NEUROSCIENCE   The Brain 'Rotates' Memories to Save Them From New Sensations By JORDANA CEPELEWICZ Some populations of neurons simultaneously process sensations and memories. New work shows how the brain rotates those representations to prevent interference. Read the blog Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2021 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation