Humans

More Stories in Humans

  1. cars lined up at a COVID-19 rapid testing site
    Health & Medicine

    Why it’s still so hard to find treatments for early COVID-19

    Small studies, unexpected side effects and incomplete information about how drugs work can stymie clinical trials for drugs that can treat COVID-19.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. a person prepares a syringe with a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose
    Health & Medicine

    What experts know so far about COVID-19 boosters for immunocompromised people

    Some immunocompromised people remain at risk for severe COVID-19 despite being vaccinated. Studies hint that an additional vaccine dose might help.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  3. partially excavated skeleton of oldest known victim of a shark bite
    Anthropology

    A partial skeleton reveals the world’s oldest known shark attack

    An ancient shark bite victim died quickly, before his body was recovered and buried, a new study finds.

    By Bruce Bower
  4. hairlike cilia (shown in purple) shown at full length and cut short by coronavirus (shown in yellow)
    Health & Medicine

    The coronavirus cuts cells’ hairlike cilia, which may help it invade the lungs

    Images show that the coronavirus clears the respiratory tract of hairlike structures called cilia, which keep foreign objects out of the lungs.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  5. Humans

    Only a tiny fraction of our DNA is uniquely human

    Some of the exclusively human tweaks to DNA may have played a role in brain evolution.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Salmonella bacteria infecting human cells
    Health & Medicine

    Human cells make a soaplike substance that busts up bacteria

    Nonimmune cells can fight off pathogens by releasing a detergent-like molecule that dissolves bacterial membranes.

    By Jonathan Lambert
  7. a small child, being held by her mother, is given a vaccine by a nurse in India
    Health & Medicine

    Millions of kids have missed routine vaccines thanks to COVID-19

    Missed shots due to the pandemic may have cut vaccination rates for measles, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis to their lowest levels in over a decade.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  8. Woman with sweat stain
    Humans

    ‘The Joy of Sweat’ will help you make peace with perspiration

    Dripping with science and history, a new book by science journalist Sarah Everts seeks to take the stigma off sweat.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  9. protester holds a sign that reads "I am not invisible"
    Science & Society

    How science overlooks Asian Americans

    Existing scientific datasets fail to capture details on Asian Americans, making it hard to assess the group’s overall well-being.

    By Sujata Gupta