


New yeast strains can produce untapped flavours of lager
One Chilean hybrid has a spicy taste, with hints of clove
As frequent pub-goers will be well aware, beers come in two varieties—lagers and ales. Lagers are brewed at cool temperatures and typically have a crisp taste. Ales, known to be spicy and flavourful, are brewed in the warmth. Both get their distinctive flavours from fermentation—the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide—by single-celled fungi known as yeast.
Different yeast strains fed the exact same sugary diet will create different flavours of beer. Yet lager-fanciers have been short-changed—there are only 85 strains of lager yeast, compared with 358 strains for ale. If a team led by Jennifer Molinet and Francisco Cubillos at the University of Santiago, in Chile, get their way, though, new types of lager may soon arrive, with completely different aromas and flavours from anything currently on tap.

A new technique could analyse tumours mid-surgery
It would be fast enough to guide the hands of neurosurgeons

The world’s most studied rainforest is still yielding exciting new insights
Even after a century of research, a tropical rainforest in Panama continues to shed valuable light on the world’s abundance of natural life

A new bionic leg can be controlled by the brain alone
Those using the prosthetic can walk as fast as those with intact lower limbs

A new technique could analyse tumours mid-surgery
It would be fast enough to guide the hands of neurosurgeons

The world’s most studied rainforest is still yielding exciting new insights
Even after a century of research, a tropical rainforest in Panama continues to shed valuable light on the world’s abundance of natural life

A new bionic leg can be controlled by the brain alone
Those using the prosthetic can walk as fast as those with intact lower limbs
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Small genetic mutations accumulated through inbreeding may have made them vulnerable to disease
The race to prevent satellite Armageddon
Fears of a Russian nuclear weapon in orbit are inspiring new protective tech
At least 10% of research may already be co-authored by AI
That might not be a bad thing