Most of us think of dentists when our gums are sore, not brain scans. Yet a new study hints that what’s happening along the gumline may show up deep inside the brain.

Here’s what the scientists measured, what it could mean, and how to protect yourself while we wait for more answers.

Imagine a field of microscopic flowers that can fold, unfurl, and even kick off a chemical reaction without a gardener in sight. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have at Chapel Hill built just such shape-shifting “soft robots,” and the most interesting part isn’t what they are, but what they might be able to do.