A notorious Alzheimer’s disease villain may also be a germ-busting superhero. Amyloid-beta gums up the brains of people with Alzheimer’s but also takes out dangerous brain invaders, scientists report May 25 in Science Translational Medicine. As strong as steel, tough strands of A-beta protein imprison pathogens that threaten the body and brain, experiments in mice […]

Two more of the ingredients for life as we know it have turned up in space, this time from a comet orbiting the sun. While hints of both have been seen in comets before, this is the clearest evidence to date. Glycine, the smallest of the 20 amino acids that build proteins, is floating in […]

Giant squid are the stuff of nightmares. They were even one of the deadly dangers in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, attacking the Nautilus in a group and carrying off one of the crew: Just as we were crowding each other to reach the platform, two more arms lashed the air, swooped on […]

From California to China, desert moss (Syntrichia caninervis) braves life in hot deserts and still stays hydrated. What’s its secret? The moss gathers water via a topsy-turvy collection system in its leaves. Moss leaves have tiny hairlike points at their ends called awns. Previous evidence pointed to a potential role for the awns in water […]