Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Alzheimer’s targets brain cells that help people stay awake
Nerve cells in the brain that are tied to wakefulness are destroyed in people with Alzheimer’s, a finding that may refocus dementia research.
- Humans
A new FDA-approved drug takes aim at a deadly form of tuberculosis
The antibiotic could help tackle extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills tens of thousands each year.
- Humans
The first chlamydia vaccine has passed a major test
A clinical trial for a vaccine against the sexually transmitted disease found that the product provoked an immune response.
- Life
CRISPR enters its first human clinical trials
The gene editor will be used in lab dishes in cancer and blood disorder trials, and to directly edit a gene in human eyes in a blindness therapy test.
- Humans
Engraved bones reveal that symbolism had ancient roots in East Asia
Denisovans might have etched line patterns on two animal bone fragments more than 100,000 years ago in what’s now northern China.
- Health & Medicine
Two of four Ebola treatments prove highly effective in a clinical trial
An Ebola field trial is shifting its focus toward two treatments that have been shown to be highly effective at preventing death in Congo, according to preliminary data.
- Humans
Even without concussions, just one football season may damage players’ brains
A group of college football players underwent brain scans after a season of play. The results suggest the sport could impact neural signaling.
- Humans
Are researchers asking the right questions to prevent mass shootings?
Understanding how to thwart these violent events may be more effective than analyzing perpetrators’ backgrounds.
- Life
Why people with celiac disease suffer so soon after eating gluten
In people with celiac disease, some T cells release immune chemicals within hours of encountering gluten, triggering the fast onset of symptoms.
- Health & Medicine
How pieces of live human brain are helping scientists map nerve cells
Experiments on live nerve cells — donated from patients undergoing brain surgery — may turn up clues about how the human brain works.
- Health & Medicine
Racist words and acts, like the El Paso shooting, harm children’s health
Racism can take a lifelong toll on children’s and adolescents’ health. U.S. pediatricians are tackling the problem.
- Anthropology
Ancient Maya warfare flared up surprisingly early
Extreme conflicts broke out well before the decline of the Maya civilization, researchers say.
