Duke University Archives

A Map of CTD downcast events on which metagenomics samples were taken, colored according to the number of samples taken on the cast.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Researchers Uncover Hidden Genetic World in Antarctic Waters

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

The researchers analyzed DNA from water samples collected throughout the Southern Ocean during a three-month expedition in late 2016 and early 2017. After sequencing the DNA, they cross-referenced their results […]

Xiaoyue Ni watches a robotic fish with a reprogrammable tail swim in a fish tank. The proof-of-demonstration could lead to materials with reprogrammable material properties that could function inside of human bodies or electronics. -- Duke University

Exploration Gear & Tech, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Programmable Lego-like Material Emulates Life’s Flexibility

by Keith CowingFebruary 11, 2026February 11, 2026

Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a proof-of-concept method for programming mechanical properties into solid Lego-like building blocks. By controlling the solidity of hundreds of individual cells in specific […]

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release

Ocean’s Loss of Oxygen Caused Massive Jurassic Extinction. Could it Happen Again?

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2024June 27, 2024

Researchers have discovered a clue in Italian limestone that helps explain a mass extinction of marine life millions of years ago, and may provide warnings about how oxygen depletion and […]

Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics

Solar Storms Could Scramble Whales' Navigational Sense

by Keith CowingFebruary 24, 2020

When our sun belches out a hot stream of charged particles in Earth’s general direction, it doesn’t just mess up communications satellites. It might also be scrambling the navigational sense […]

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biophysics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Analog DNA Circuit Does Math In A Test Tube

by Keith CowingAugust 24, 2016December 3, 2023

Often described as the blueprint of life, DNA contains the instructions for making every living thing from a human to a house fly. But in recent decades, some researchers have […]

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release

DNA's Structure Is Well-Suited For Genomes

by Keith CowingAugust 5, 2016

A new study could explain why DNA and not RNA, its older chemical cousin, is the main repository of genetic information. The DNA double helix is a more forgiving molecule […]