AI and automation are speeding up science and chemistry by helping scientists pick which experiments to conduct and home in on promising new materials.
Why it matters: There's pressure on these fields to produce new materials faster and cheaper to support and power technologies that could transform industries and economies.
Bacteria can shut down all of their functions for years to protect themselves. While they're dormant, they may count how often they sense nutrients and use that information to know when to wake up, scientists reported this week.
Why it matters: The finding could be helpful in developing antibiotics for bacteria spores, like anthrax, that can be in dormant states that make them difficult to kill.
