Early tests indicate that the recent mass death of thousands of seabirds along Chile's northern coast were not caused by avian flu, authorities said Friday.

While judges, lawyers and support staff at the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, keep the American justice system buzzing, thousands of humble honeybees on the building's roof are playing their part in a more important task—feeding the world.

The Human Cell Atlas is already helping to ensure safer pregnancies, and scientists believe it will help them understand many other conditionsIt provides oxygen and nutrients for a growing baby, removes waste products as they build up in its blood, and protects the life of the foetus. Yet the placenta, the temporary organ that cherishes the unborn, is a puzzle. It carries the DNA of the newly formed child but manages to elude immune responses from its genetically distinct mother.Understanding how the placenta survives and functions is of critical importance in ensuring pregnancies are healthy and viable – and thanks to a remarkable global project, the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), researchers are now uncovering the secrets of its behaviour. Continue reading...