Feature Humans Science News of the Year 2003 Share this:EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPocketRedditPrint By Science News December 16, 2003 at 1:27 pm Genetic material extracted from the bones of prehistoric European Homo sapiens, or Cro-Magnons, fueled the controversial theory that people and Neandertals didn’t interbreed . S. Ricci Planetary scientists discovered ice near the edge of Mars’ south polar cap . Melting snow may have sculpted the recently formed gullies on Mars . The presence of large amounts of the mineral olivine argued against ancient oceans or lakes on Mars . Scientists deduced that the Red Planet’s core is at least partially liquid . Mars came closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000 years . Fosbury et al., ESA/NASA/NOAO Using a gravitational zoom lens, scientists found the hottest, brightest, and most crowded star-forming region yet observed . Berger/Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab. The sharpest images of the sun ever taken showed surprising details of our star’s turbulent surface . Ibata et al.; NASA, J. Bell, M. Wolff An imaging study indicated that disturbances in a network of brain regions that participate in control of attention and behavior underlie attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in kids and teens . UCLA Lab. Of Neuro Imaging Monkeys demonstrated to scientists for the first time that a nonhuman species harbors a sense of fairness . De Waal A new class of experimental drugs that mimic the actions of the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 showed benefits against type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. The drugs are based on a compound first identified in the saliva of the venomous Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). Glucagon-like peptide 1 revs up and refurbishes insulin-making cells of the pancreas and might spawn the growth of new cells . M. Seward Entomologists decided that stick insects might have done something once thought impossible: lost a complicated trait, their wings, in the course of evolution but recovered it millions of years later . A. Whiting Scientists cloned a horse and a mule for the first time, and Dolly the sheep, the first cloned animal, died (; ). Lazzari/Nature From polymers and carbon nanotubes, scientists fabricated self-cleaning materials dubbed superhydrophobic because water easily rolls off them and carries away dirt (; ). Gu et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. More Stories from Science News on Humans Climate Climate change could double U.S. temperature-linked deaths by mid-century By Andrea Tamayo10 hours ago Microbes Some bacteria in your mouth can divide into as many as 14 cells at once By Saugat Bolakhe14 hours ago Health & Medicine Vaccines for mpox are finally reaching Africa. But questions about the virus remain By Erin Garcia de JesúsSeptember 19, 2024 Anthropology Fossils of an extinct animal may have inspired this cave art drawing By Bruce BowerSeptember 18, 2024 Health & Medicine Can taking ashwagandha supplements improve health? By Sean CummingsSeptember 13, 2024 Anthropology Ancient DNA unveils a previously unknown line of Neandertals By Bruce BowerSeptember 11, 2024 Health & Medicine California droughts may help valley fever spread By Erin Garcia de JesúsSeptember 11, 2024 Health & Medicine The first face transplant to include an eye shows no rejection a year later By Aimee CunninghamSeptember 9, 2024