Early embryonic hearts are the first functioning organ in embryos, playing a critical role in development, but don’t resemble the mature four-chambered organ we might imagine. Some anti-abortion legislation hinges on the term ‘fetal heartbeat’ to describe early cardiac activity when neither a fetus nor a chambered heart exist.
Continue ReadingFake spider webs cover suburban lawns every October, but did you know that scientists have recently created glowing spider silk sutures that dim if they encounter an infection in the host tissue?
Continue ReadingWhat do giraffes, angelfish, and seashells all have in common? Their surface patterns, from the patches on giraffe coats to the stripes on the angelfish, are formed through the reaction-diffusion process, a mathematical model describing the interplay between an activator and inhibitor.
Continue ReadingSelf-healing buildings and compostable bricks are astonishing architectural feats brought to you by fungi.
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