Examining body sizes of ancient and modern aquatic mammals and their terrestrial counterparts reveals that life in water restricts mammals to a narrow range of body sizes – big enough to stay warm, but not so big they can’t find enough food.
A technique for growing sticky films of bacteria into elaborate microscopic images could reveal how potentially dangerous biofilms grow and transmit antibiotic resistance, and could lead to novel biomaterials or synthetic microbial communities.
W. E. Moerner and his lab members peer inside mammalian cells, producing intricately detailed, 3-D images of the tiny structures within and tracking molecules’ subtle movements.
The same tools that Ellen Kuhl once applied to studying concrete are now revealing mysteries in how the brain folds and functions. Part of a series on tiny answers to biology's biggest questions.
Doctors haven’t known why some babies are born with thin, spongy heart muscles. Now, a chance collaboration has linked the disease to poorly developed blood vessels around the heart.
Now buzzing and whizzing around every continent, insects were mysteriously scarce in the fossil record until 325 million years ago – when they first took flight and, according to a new study, evolutionarily took off.
Biologists have wondered for centuries why plants and animals take the shapes they do. Now, researchers exploring the mechanics of cells and tissues are finding answers that might one day help engineers rebuild our bodies. Part of a series on tiny answers to biology's biggest questions.
Stanford researchers say one way to solve the mystery of why some breast cancers are more likely to spread could come from studying the cell’s mechanical properties. Part of a series on tiny answers to biology's biggest questions.
What unites the needs of Ebola workers, people with multiple sclerosis and athletes comes down to one thing – cold hands. A device that cools the hands is finding widespread use from the playing field to the clinic.
Federal regulators have indicated they may open some marine national monuments to commercial fishing. Researchers who have studied these and adjacent areas discuss their value and the potential impacts of a change in protected status.
