Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Organoids offer clues to how brains are made in humans and chimpanzees
Three-dimensional clumps of brain cells offer clues about how brains get made in humans and chimpanzees.
- Health & Medicine
A precision drug for prostate cancer may slow the disease’s spread
The drug olaparib could be used to treat men with certain genetic mutations and severe types of prostate cancer, a clinical trial finds.
- Health & Medicine
Nearly 1,300 injuries and 29 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to vaping
As the investigation continues, health officials expect multiple causes will be behind the ever-growing number of vaping-related lung injuries.
- Archaeology
Ancient European households combined the rich and poor
Homes combined “haves” and “have-nots” in a male-run system, suggests a study that challenges traditional views of ancient social stratification.
- Humans
Nepal is reeling from an unprecedented dengue outbreak
As climate change opens new regions to mosquitoes, Nepal suffers an outbreak of the painful viral disease that has sickened more than 9,000 people.
- Health & Medicine
Discovery of how cells sense oxygen wins the 2019 medicine Nobel
Understanding the molecular switch that lets cells cope with oxygen has implications for everything from metabolism to wound healing.
- Health & Medicine
The U.S. narrowly eked out a measles win, keeping elimination status
The risk of measles, while low in the United States, still remains due to undervaccinated areas and international travelers importing the virus.
- Neuroscience
Dueling brain waves during sleep may decide whether rats remember or forget
In a slumbering rat, two distinct kinds of brain waves have opposite jobs.
- Health & Medicine
Men with breast cancer have lower survival rates than women
Men with breast cancer don’t fare as well as women. To expand treatment options, the U.S. FDA is encouraging drug companies to include men in studies.
- Health & Medicine
Seth Shipman recorded a movie in DNA — and that’s just the beginning
Seth Shipman is developing tools that may reveal hidden biological processes.
- Neuroscience
Maryam Shanechi designs machines to read minds
Maryam Shanechi creates computer programs that link brain and machine to one day help patients with paralysis or psychiatric disorders.
- Genetics
Stanley Qi gives CRISPR a makeover to redefine genetic engineering
By adapting CRISPR/Cas9, Stanley Qi has given genetic engineers a plethora of new tools.
