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Mystery ozone-destroying gases linked to badly recycled fridges

24 May 2018

Last week we learned a chemical that harms the ozone layer is being emitted in Asia – and now it seems sloppy recycling might be partly to blame

Lizards keep evolving toxic green blood and we don't know why

16 May 2018

All the green-blooded lizards in the world live in New Guinea, but it turns out the trait has evolved there independently at least four times

A new synthetic molecule may solve a paradox about life's origin

15 May 2018

Many scientists suspect life began with a molecule called RNA, but there has long been a big problem with this idea. Now there is a solution

Beetles escape alive after almost 2 hours in a toad’s stomach

7 February 2018

Bombardier beetles sometimes get eaten by toads, but they can squirt hot, toxic jets of liquid from their backsides so the toads often vomit them right back up

Robot made from a DNA strand could deliver cargo in your blood

14 September 2017

Micromachine with two feet and two arms could pick up and deliver drugs in the bloodstream or build chemical compounds, one tiny step at a time

Goldfish go months without oxygen by making alcohol inside cells

11 August 2017

Goldfish and crucian carp have evolved enzymes that turn carbohydrates into alcohol when no oxygen is available – helping the fish survive in ice-locked pools

Plastics made fireproof thanks to mother-of-pearl mimic

19 July 2017

A method for quickly coating objects in a thin, environmentally safe mother-of-pearl-like film could protect food or electronics from the elements

Fortified gas marbles are 10 times stronger than regular bubbles

8 June 2017

Bubbles reinforced with an external layer of particles can hold their shape under pressure – which may help in making stronger foams and in drug delivery