For the first time, a structure comparable to our cerebral cortex has been found in an invertebrate — a humble marine ragworm. THE GIST A marine ragworm has brain structures that researchers now believe are directly related to the human brain. Other invertebrates likely also possess the brain...

New research reveals that healthy eggs need a tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity and be ready for fertilization—a finding that may ultimately help physicians assess which eggs isolated from a woman will produce the best embryos. “Understanding zinc’s role may eventually help us measure...

Bioengineers at Duke University have observed a phenomenon in bacteria that causes cells to self-destruct by popping. Cells do this when a  colony reaches a certain density—an unintended consequence of introducing snippets of engineered DNA known as plasmids. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjmuDiR5Kfw[/youtube]