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The hiatus in human spaceflight caused by last month’s failure of a Russian Soyuz rocket will be quite brief indeed. Three crewmembers will launch toward the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Soyuz on Dec. 3, Russian space officials announced today (Nov. 1). That target date falls less than eight weeks after the Oct. 11 launch anomaly, which forced the Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to make an emergency landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan....

The more information that comes out about the Chinese researcher who edited the genes of two embryos—now twin newborn girls—the more other experts are concerned about the process the scientist followed, the gene he targeted and the results he achieved. In a 30-minute talk Wednesday at a gene editing summit in Hong Kong, He Jiankui of South University of Science and Technology of China, in Shenzhen, laid out the steps he took to perform the first-ever editing of the human germline—cells that are passed on by reproduction....

NEW YORK—As scientists aiming to create genomes from scratch see it, nature had her chance—3.8 billion years, to be precise, the length of time that life on Earth has been evolving and, supposedly, getting more finely adapted and more complex. Now it’s the turn of scientists, who think they can do better. Halfway through a two-day meeting of “Genome Project-write” at the New York Genome Center in New York City, more than 250 attendees from 10 countries had unveiled dozens of ways that designing and building genomes might make possible a dazzling litany of futuristic advances....

Policy Singapore: A Smart Nation With advanced communications, efficient living options and a comprehensive public transport system, Singapore’s strong infrastucture and committment to innovation make it an ideal home for global industries and R&D… May 5, 2016 Biotech Toward Even Better Living As Singapore conquers 21st-century problems with cutting-edge technologies, the world takes note May 5, 2016 — Renee Morad Engineering Business Opportunities Ahead With financial and entrepreneurial support, Singapore is committed to turning great ideas into great companies May 5, 2016 — Zach Goldberg...

Despite significant pyrotechnics and air travel disruption last year, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull simply didn’t put that many aerosols into the stratosphere. In contrast, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, put 10 cubic kilometers of ash, gas and other materials into the sky, and cooled the planet for a year. Now, research suggests that for the past decade, such stratospheric aerosols—injected into the atmosphere by either recent volcanic eruptions or human activities such as coal burning—are slowing down global warming....

It is by turns aloof and affectionate, serene and savage, endearing and exasperating. Despite its mercurial nature, however, the house cat is the most popular pet in the world. A third of American households have feline members, and more than 600 million cats live among humans worldwide. Yet as familiar as these creatures are, a complete understanding of their origins has proved elusive. Whereas other once wild animals were domesticated for their milk, meat, wool or servile labor, cats contribute virtually nothing in the way of sustenance or work to human endeavor....

A four-year-old girl sits at a table in a featureless room. A friendly researcher places a marshmallow in front of her and tells her that if she can resist eating it for 15 minutes, he will be back with another one and she can then eat both. He leaves, and what she does next will predict her success and mental health for the rest of her life. Such is the power of the now classic marshmallow study, long thought to be a measure of self-control....

The biologists have done it again. Not so long ago it was cloning and embryonic stem cells that challenged moral imagination. These days all eyes are on a powerful new technique for engineering or “editing” DNA. Relatively easy to learn and to use, CRISPR has forced scientists, ethicists and policymakers to reconsider one of the few seeming red lines in experimental biology: the difference between genetically modifying an individual’s somatic cells and engineering the germline that will be transmitted to future generations....

The Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, has caused a furor. In the show, a high school student who has died by suicide has left 13 tapes, one for each person she believes have contributed in some way to her eventual decision. Each episode relates to an individual tape. The penultimate episode depicts the suicide in a gruesome manner. Some say the series is an accurate and sensitive portrayal of the inner angst of an individual that will help enlighten us as to the motivations behind suicidal behaviour and suicide itself....

Having failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Congress is now working on a tax overhaul. But it turns out the tax bills in the House and Senate also aim to reshape health care. Here are five big ways the tax bill could affect health policy: Repeal the requirement for most people to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Republicans tried and failed to end the so-called individual mandate this year when they attempted to advance their health overhaul legislation....

Donald Hebb was a famed Canadian scientist who produced key findings that ranged across the field of psychology, providing insights into perception, intelligence and emotion. He is perhaps best known, though, for his theory of learning and memory, which appears as an entry in most basic texts on neuroscience. But now an alternative theory—along with accompanying experimental evidence—fundamentally challenges some central tenets of Hebb’s thinking. It provides a detailed account of how cells and the electrical and molecular signals that activate them are involved in forming memories of a series of related events....

Biophilia by Christopher Marley Abrams, 2015 (($50)) All manner of living things, including pythons, octopuses, orchids and crystals, are turned into art in the photographs of Biophilia (meaning “love of life”) by artist and designer Marley. Geometric patterns, larger-than-life close-ups and mosaics of various creatures showcase the stunning colors, shapes and textures of the natural world. “We do not love nature because it is beautiful,” Marley writes in an introductory essay to the large-format book....

Infested: How the Bed Bug Infiltrated Our Bedrooms and Took Over the World by Brooke Borel University of Chicago Press, 2015 ($26) They are many city dwellers’ worst nightmare: the dark spots on the mattress and itchy blotches on arms and legs that indicate a bed bug infestation. Journalist Borel suffered through multiple invasions that set her on a quest to understand the history and biology of the bugs, as well as the psychology of why they drive us crazy....

You’ve turned 65 and exited middle age. What are the chances you’ll develop cognitive impairment or dementia in the years ahead? New research about “cognitive life expectancy”—how long older adults live with good versus declining brain health—shows that after age 65 men and women spend more than a dozen years in good cognitive health, on average. And, over the past decade, that time span has been expanding. By contrast, cognitive challenges arise in a more compressed time frame in later life, with mild cognitive impairment (problems with memory, decision-making or thinking skills) lasting about four years, on average, and dementia (Alzheimer’s disease or other related conditions) occurring over 1½ to two years....

The world is eager for energy alternatives that greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But where will the impetus come from for developing cheap, clean technologies? Two primary strategies have emerged: a top-down approach in which government imposes mandates that force companies to change or a bottom-up approach in which entrepreneurs craft solutions that must meet the test of the marketplace. One of those who believes that government must take the responsibility to push innovation forward is Daniel Esty, a law professor at Yale University and head of the school’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy....

Fiber may seem like a somewhat frumpy nutrient, but it is actually one of the hottest nutrition topics right now. That’s partly because fiber plays such a big role in the health and function of the gut microbiota. And anything to do with the microbiome is trending—for good reason! The way we define and categorize fiber has also gotten a complete overhaul in recent years. We used to think of fiber simply as “roughage;” the parts of plants that our digestive system could not break down and convert into energy....

Deadening calm fills the Horse Latitudes, where there’s ocean, sky and little else. A satellite peers down, capturing wisps of cloud, counting particles suspended in the air, measuring rainfall and monitoring weather. There is little wind. These latitudes, between 30 and 35 degrees away from the equator, are so calm that Spanish sailors in the 17th century could not move their heavily laden ships, or so the legend goes. So, the sailors dumped their cargo—horses—into the subtropical ocean and heaved on....

Most cardiovascular events begin with atherosclerosis, a condition in which inflammation and fatty deposits cause arteries to narrow and stiffen. These deposits, or plaques, build up over years. When they dislodge and travel to smaller vessels, they can block blood flow to vital organs, causing heart attacks and strokes. Although many of the contributing factors for atherosclerosis, including high cholesterol and hypertension, are well understood, addressing them doesn’t eliminate the risk of developing the disease....

While President Obama’s plan to find alternatives to storing high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev., is grabbing headlines, another problem has begun threatening license applications for new reactors. What can be done with low-level nuclear waste? There are dwindling places to put low-level nuclear waste – contaminated resins, filters, wood, paper, plastics, pipes, structural steel and pressure vessels that can be hazardous for up to 500 years. And nuclear-power opponent groups are filing and winning legal fights to force utilities to present disposal plans for low-level waste before they can build a new reactor....

The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight (Nov. 17), but bright moonlight is threatening to wash out this year’s light display. The annual Leonid meteor shower is expected to reach peak activity tonight at approximately 10:40 p.m. EST (0340 GMT on Nov. 18), but a luminous third quarter moon could outshine even the brightest meteors, said Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environments Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala....