Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

  1. Health & Medicine

    Immune arms-race in bats may make their viruses deadly to people

    An overactive immune system may help bats avoid being sickened by many viruses. This may viruses becoming stronger — and deadlier — when they hit other species.

    By
  2. Health & Medicine

    Experts rethink need for X-ray shielding of patients

    For close to 70 years, workers who perform X-ray scans of the body have been advised to shield sensitive tissues with lead 'aprons.' That may soon stop.

    By
  3. Health & Medicine

    Your most urgent questions about the new coronavirus

    Researchers have more questions than answers right now about 2019-nCoV. They’re racing to understand and stop the coronavirus and the health crisis it poses.

    By
  4. Health & Medicine

    The many challenges of corralling a coronavirus outbreak

    The Chinese government has quarantined millions of people in hopes of limiting spread of a new coronavirus. But no one yet knows how much this will help.

    By
  5. Health & Medicine

    Explainer: What is a coronavirus?

    Coronaviruses are a diverse family of disease-causing agents. Some cause the common cold. Newer ones have emerged to pose more serious threats to people.

    By
  6. Health & Medicine

    Serious virus emerges in China and is spreading globally

    A new viral infection emerged in December 2019 among people in Wuhan, China. The mystery illness has already killed at least 17 people and sickened many hundreds.

    By
  7. Environment

    Australian fires have imperiled up to 100 species

    As massive wildfires consume huge swaths of Australia’s bush, untold species — many of them found nowhere else — are now threatened with extinction.

    By
  8. Microbes

    Drug-resistant germs kill some 35,000 Americans each year

    The new mortality rate may be way low, some experts say. Also troubling are two new germs that have emerged as big and urgent threats.

    By
  9. Animals

    Whales echolocate with big clicks and tiny amounts of air

    Toothed whales may echolocate using bits of air that they recycle inside their heads to conserve both air and energy.

    By
  10. Animals

    Why are bird eggs in cold climates darker colored?

    A global survey of bird egg color has revealed a simple trend: the colder the climate, the darker the egg.

    By
  11. Life

    A new spin on lab-grown meat

    A technique inspired by how cotton candy is spun could help produce lab-grown meat at a lower cost and on a bigger scale.

    By
  12. Genetics

    What we can — and can’t — learn from our pets’ DNA

    Your dog or cat’s DNA is an open book. DNA tests tell people about their pet’s breed and attempt to predict things about its behavior and health.

    By