A hidden temperature law governs all life on Earth

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have uncovered what they call a “universal thermal performance curve” (UTPC), a pattern that appears to apply to every living species on Earth. This curve describes how organisms respond to changes in temperature, and it seems to hold true across the entire spectrum of life. According to the scientists, the…

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Scientists just made gene editing far more powerful

Some inherited diseases, including cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and Tay Sachs disease, involve multiple genetic mutations within a person’s DNA. Even two individuals with the same condition may have different sets of mutations. Because of this complexity, creating gene therapies that work broadly across all patients with a given disorder has been extremely difficult. A New…

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Earth is splitting open beneath the Pacific Northwest

For the first time, scientists have directly witnessed a subduction zone — the place where one tectonic plate plunges beneath another — in the midst of breaking apart. The finding, published in Science Advances, provides an unprecedented view of how Earth’s surface changes over time and adds new insight into the potential for future earthquakes…

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