"Perceptronium," Cyber Citizen Science, and RNAi: NOVA Next Week in Review

ByAllison EckFriday, April 25, 2014 NOVA NextNOVA Next

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This Week’s NOVA Next Feature Article

TTR amyloidosis is debilitating and, even with today’s medicine, ultimately fatal. But there’s hope with a new therapy called RNAi.

NOVA Next contributor Cassandra Willyard reports that if it works, it could cure TTR amyloidosis and open new doors for the treatment of other diseases.

In other news from NOVA and around the web:

Discover how life emerged, create new medicines, solve the mysteries of the cell. You can contribute to science with NOVA Labs’ new RNA Lab .
Gene therapy could transform the lives of up to 7 million people in the U.S. who have acquired hearing loss.
Feeling inspired by the Boston Marathon runners? If you want to run a marathon, you’ll have to master your mind first .
Theoretical physicist Max Tegmark says that consciousness might be a state of matter .
Shakespeare might have been an armchair astronomer .
Earth Day was on Tuesday. Here’s how you can help solve climate change just by sitting at your computer.
Vermont will now require labeling of genetically altered foods . Here’s what we’re actually talking about when we talk about GMOs.
As climate change warms the Arctic faster than the rest of the planet, oil companies are moving to exploit the its resources. But we’re woefully ill-prepared for oil spills in the Arctic Ocean.
Climate change evangelist Katherine Hayhoe has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Watch her Secret Life of Scientists profile .
Hopes are fading for families of those aboard the ferry that sank last week in waters off southeast South Korea. Watch “Why Ships Sink” streaming online to learn more about how these disasters happen.

Did you miss "Inside Animal Minds: Who’s the Smartest?" Stream it here—and remember, it will only be available for the next four weeks.

Dolphins can “read,” plan ahead, and communicate in astounding ways. Watch this NOVA scienceNOW segment to learn more.
Bonobos, like these sisters at the San Diego Zoo, can teach us a lot about how to live together peaceably .
The New York Times made this charming video about the cuttlefish. You can learn more about this creature’s extraordinary powers with “Kings of Camouflage” streaming online .

Photo courtesy Alnylam