Most people are familiar with the barcode labels on items purchased at the store. Silicon-based radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags are another kind of label that has been used for decades to track containers, farm animals, and library books. Now, new nanotube-based tags may replace bar codes and revolutionize the way goods are tracked, shipped, and purchased.

About 35 years ago, Dr. Raymond Damadian invented a technology that transformed medical science. MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, has been widely used in medical research ever since. Researchers over the years have employed it in a variety of ways, including using it to uncover cancers early enough for effective treatment.

A recent narrative-style article in Smithsonian magazine highlighted research in the largely unexplored Congo River in central Africa, where researchers have identified new fish species. The researchers preliminarily confirmed that strong currents in deep waters had isolated the breeding populations of certain fishes, including the bottom-feeding elephant fish.

Sea urchins are spiny marine animals. Some of them like to hide in holes that they dig out of limestone in the ocean floor, using teeth that are ground down and yet remain sharp. What makes these teeth so special that they can drill through rock and not go blunt?

Mankind’s attempts at bioengineering have yet to match the precision of some techniques already found in nature: cloning, tissue culturing, and gene therapy. Recent studies have explored how these processes operate in amoebas, aphids, and parasitic wasps, respectively.