Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Is the coronavirus mutating? Yes. But here’s why you don’t need to panic
Some studies claim there are new strains of the coronavirus, but lab experiments are needed to see if mutations are changing how it infects cells.
- Neuroscience
How coronavirus stress may scramble our brains
The pandemic has made clear thinking a real struggle. But researchers say knowing how stress affects the brain can help people cope.
- Health & Medicine
Politics aside, hydroxychloroquine could (maybe) help fight COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine may help prevent COVID-19, or it may not. Studies are under way to find out. Meanwhile, here’s what we know.
- Health & Medicine
There are two versions of the coronavirus. One’s not more dangerous than the other
Factors such as a person’s age and white blood cell counts matter more for disease severity when it comes to COVID-19, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
As we wait for a vaccine, here’s a snapshot of potential COVID-19 treatments
Though a vaccine remains the ultimate goal, researchers are on the hunt for new ways to treat COVID-19.
- Genetics
The oldest genetic link between Asians and Native Americans was found in Siberia
DNA from a fragment of a 14,000-year-old tooth suggests that Native Americans have widespread Asian ancestry.
- Humans
Births in the United States have dropped to a 34-year low
Recessions can influence the birth rate, but births haven’t rebounded yet since the country’s last economic downturn in the late 2000s.
- Health & Medicine
New data suggest people aren’t getting reinfected with the coronavirus
People who recover from COVID-19 but later test positive again for the coronavirus don’t carry infectious virus, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Indoor, high-intensity fitness classes may help spread the coronavirus
As more U.S. states reopen and people return to public life, dance fitness classes in South Korea tell a cautionary tale.
- Health & Medicine
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine stimulates an immune response in people
An mRNA vaccine triggers the immune system to make as many virus-blocking antibodies as in people who have recovered from COVID-19, early data show.
- Science & Society
Past plagues offer lessons for society after the coronavirus pandemic
Starting with the Roman Empire, societies have often dealt resiliently with deadly pandemics.
- Health & Medicine
T cells may help COVID-19 patients — and people never exposed to the virus
Researchers found certain immune cells that help the body fight off an infection in the blood of people who recovered from a coronavirus infection.
