Bacteria have been genetically engineered to bioluminesce when wine has spoiled

Solutions of bioluminescent bacteria can create FOMO-inducing living art

A 2002 exhibition at Montana State University-Bozeman placed the bacteria onto petri dishes that served as macroscopic pixels to create images. Once the bacteria finished eating all the food in the sealed dishes, the light slowly faded away, ending the exhibit.

Bioluminescent reaction enzymes are often used in biomedical research

Near-infrared luciferase systems allow researchers to image and analyze cellular activity in living animals because they penetrate tissue more deeply than visible light. This provides a means of studying gene expression and protein interactions without harming the animals.

Humans have used bioluminescence as a means of military advantage

During World War I, the British Navy sank a German U-boat after spotting the blue light forming at the sides and in the wake of the boat. Jellyfish slime was applied to a Roman walking stick for nighttime guidance, while bioluminescent fungi in Indonesia fulfilled the same purpose.

Wine explained

Wine is the sublime product of fermentation, the process of breaking down fruit—typically grapes. As the grapes ferment, yeast consumes the natural sugars and converts them to alcohol. With the process first developed and refined thousands of years ago, wine has been a central feature of celebrations throughout modern history. Want to learn more about its origins? Check out 1440's explainer on wine.

How fermentation enables the pickling of food and the production of beer

This process occurs when microbes produce lactic acid, ethanol, or carbon dioxide after consuming sugars. The acid helps preserve vegetables in a brine solution during pickling and gives them a sour taste, while ethanol serves as the inebriant in alcoholic beverages. The acid and carbon dioxide give sourdough bread its taste and texture.

How MIT researchers have used genetic mutations to improve photosynthesis efficiency

Recognizing that RuBisCO—a protein that binds carbon dioxide to other compounds to produce the building blocks of organic molecules—often mistakenly binds oxygen, scientists performed directed evolution experiments to modify the geometry of a bacterial version of the protein to cause it to preferentially interact with carbon dioxide over oxygen.

How scientists are using molecules found in acidophiles to develop new medical treatments

The Berkeley Pit, an open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana, that ceased operations in 1982 and is now filled with highly acidic water, is home to various species of fungi and yeast. These extremophiles produce unique compounds that may have anti-inflammatory benefits and have already been used to create an antibiotic for staph infections.

An estimated 1% of DNA mutations in bacteria can produce more dangerous strains

Researchers have developed a technique to monitor these mutations in real time. Using this technology, scientists found that mutations occur at a steady rate, with 1% leading to potentially deadly changes.

Glowing chemicals allow scientists to read DNA like a barcode

The process of determining the order of nitrogenous bases in DNA involves first cutting the DNA into fragments, which are duplicated multiple times using bacteria. Fluorescently labeled terminator bases are added to fragments, which are sorted by length and read via laser to reconstruct the sequence.

Glow sticks feed energy released in chemical reactions to fluorescent dyes

When bent, the glass tube inside the stick breaks, releasing hydrogen peroxide into the surrounding solution. The ensuing reaction creates unstable molecules that decompose and release energy, which is then absorbed by molecular dyes that emit light when their excited electrons return to lower energy states.

Research on bacterial cultures used in yogurt production led to CRISPR's discovery

Scientists learned it was a microbial immune system that could be repurposed to protect dairy cultures from viruses. Today, nearly all yogurt is made with CRISPRized bacteria, as are genetically modified crops like herbicide-resistant corn, wheat, and soy.

Bacteria use chemical signals to communicate and coordinate with one another

Through a system called quorum sensing, bacteria produce and absorb compounds from their environment to identify allies or competitors and adjust their behavior accordingly. Some bacteria produce food-digesting enzymes only in the presence of similar bacteria, thereby preventing competitors from consuming their meal.

Artificial lightning can improve the yield of shiitake mushroom growers

Researchers have found that shockwaves produced from lightning strikes homogenously break internal filaments called hyphae, transitioning the mushrooms from a vegetative growth to a fruiting phase. Repeated minor shocks near mushroom logs mimicked this effect.

Watch underwater photosynthesis make water look like champagne

In shallow waters where sunlight can reach, photosynthetic reactions absorb water and dissolved carbon dioxide, producing bubbles of oxygen at the surface of plants. As these bubbles rise to the water's surface, a fizzy appearance is created.

How spoiled meat helped uncover a bacterium that can survive the vacuum of space

When a can of ground beef and pork spoiled despite attempts to sterilize it with gamma radiation, researcher Arthur Anderson isolated the bacteria in the food and discovered Deinococcus radiodurans. The polyextremophile has since been found on the walls of nuclear reactors and overcomes radiation damage through highly optimized DNA repair mechanisms.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

How to cook food with lasers

Creative Machines Lab at Columbia Engineering have developed a system of software-controlled lasers to cook food with precision, retain moisture with the final-cooked product, brown food within its original packaging, and create an entirely new meal creation process for a consumer. Watch this three-minute video to see for yourself.

Long-term evolution experiments use microbe's short generations to speed up selection

With quick generations of microbes, scientists can speed up the evolutionary process, with projects like the LTEE in California running for 40 years and generating 80,000 generations of E. coli.

Scientists create the first CRISPR-modified spider to enhance its silk proteins

A research group at the University of Bayreuth used CRISPR-Cas9 to genetically modify spiders to produce glowing red silk. Spider silk is five times stronger than steel by weight, and this research paves the way for developing new silk functionalities.

Britain’s bottle innovation saved Champagne

Champagne wouldn’t be where it is today without a surprising partner: 17th-century British glassmakers. An energy crisis caused by deforestation—not enough trees to burn—led to the search for an alternative fuel source. Enter coal. The plentiful resource burned much hotter than wood, creating stronger glass that could stand up to the pressure of the carbon monoxide produced by the wine’s second fermentation and solving one of the fledgling industry’s most vexing problems.

Sleep deprivation leads to buildup of danger molecules in the gut

Fruit flies genetically engineered to be awake for as long as they live tend to live half as long as their well-rested brethren. Analysis shows these modified flies suffer from a buildup of DNA-destroying reactive oxygen species in their guts. When enabled to sleep, the flies live as long as their counterparts.

Researchers believe beer was being brewed 13,000 years ago

In 2018, archaeologists discovered traces of a wheat-and-barley-based alcoholic beverage near Haifa, in modern-day Israel, and believe it was produced by the Natufian people.

Wood that changed the color of water was the earliest recorded example of fluorescence

Lignum nephriticum, a tea used to treat kidney and urinary illnesses, was described in the 16th century as derived from white wood that turned water a bluish hue. However, in the 17th century, accounts described the wood as reddish and creating a kaleidoscope of colors in water. In 1915, the sources were identified as two different woods, which absorb UV radiation and emit visible light.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Leprosy bacteria are sometimes grown on mouse feet for research

The main leprosy-causing bacterium can't be grown in a petri dish, so the disease is challenging to study in the lab. For research purposes, it has been grown in the foot pads of mice.

Scientists seeking gut insights are attaching flatulence sensors to volunteers' underwear

This fart-tracking device detects gas generated in the gut, providing insights about gut microbial activity. The underwear sensors measure a component of what is technically called flatus—digestive system gas.

How to make LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, often shortened to LSD, comes from ergot, a parasitic fungus that can be found in grains. Chemists rearrange the fungus' chemical structure or the structure of an ergot derivative through complex chemical reactions, transforming it into the hallucinogenic bicycle-shaped LSD crystal. Due to the partially synthetic drug's criminalization, many of the details of modern LSD crafting honed by "underground chemists" are kept secret.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.