under the microscope

Entire ant colonies play dead.

“Researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA) were investigating nesting boxes for wild animals on Kangaroo Island, when they came across a box full of dead ants. They didn’t think much of it, until one amateur flubbed its lines […]

under the microscope

Extending the life of a yeast cell by 82%.

There are two ways the cell deteriorated over time: either deterioration within its cellular nucleus or its mitochondria. “[R]ather than the entire cell aging at once, the aging process was toggled between different physical parts of the organism, extending its […]

under the microscope

Regenerating hair cells to restore hearing.

“A team of Harvard Medical School scientists say they’ve come up with a new drug cocktail of molecules that they say can successfully regenerate the hair cells in the inner ear that enable hearing — a potentially groundbreaking treatment for […]

under the microscope

Cessations of consciousness in meditation.

The full paper is paywalled (boo Elsevier) but enough is there to be intriguing. There are rare meditators who seem to enter a state without consciousness for up to 7 days. Unlike sleep, “they cannot be ‘woken up’ from the […]