Articles by

Elise Cutts

How a bacterial toxin linked to colon cancer messes with DNA

The microbial toxin colibactin has just the right shape to snuggle up to DNA — but its...

How a Harvard maverick forever changed our concept of the stars

Astronomy is the oldest science, and the sky is among our first laboratories. Long before the written...

This New Pyramid-Like Shape Always Lands With the Same Side Up

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.In 360 BC, Plato envisioned the cosmos as...

How hot can Earth get? Our planet’s climate history holds clues

Our species likes it cold. Homo sapiens evolved in — and still inhabits — one of Earth’s...

Mouse brains hint at why it’s so hard to forget food poisoning

Food poisoning isn’t an experience you’re likely to forget — and now, scientists know why. A study published...

The Universe Is Teeming With Complex Organic Molecules

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.Ten years ago, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta...

A Popular Alien-Hunting Technique Is Increasingly in Doubt

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.In 2020, scientists detected a gas called phosphine...