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A synthetic biologist has created artificial cells that can “talk” to natural cells — but are they really alive?

Ready to go beyond this week’s headlines? 5 primary sources worth reading next—about Egypt, Al Jazeera, and international reporting.

“Words over time have a way of just oozing around,” says linguist John McWhorter. He traces the evolution of five words that have spent millennia drifting from one meaning into another.

Our electronic devices are often blamed — at times, rightfully so — for alienating us from our inner lives and from each other. But what if we could use them to cultivate self-compassion, not distraction? Technology expert Chris Dancy suggests how.

Heather Barnett makes art from physarum polycephalum, including a beautiful timelapse film of its growth. Check out some truly strange GIFs of the work.