Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
1 in 4 U.S. high school seniors has vaped recently — up 4.5 percentage points from 2018
A 2019 survey finds the number of high school and middle school students who report using e-cigarettes recently continues to grow.
- Humans
Babies born by C-section have more potentially infectious bacteria in their guts
Microbial mixes in babies’ guts differ depending on birth method.
- Health & Medicine
Mucus prevents hand sanitizers from quickly killing the flu
Flu viruses can hold out for minutes against ethanol when encased in wet mucus.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution can reach the placenta around a developing baby
A small study of women living in Belgium found soot embedded in their placental tissue.
- Humans
An island grave site hints at far-flung ties among ancient Americans
Great Lakes and southeastern coastal hunter-gatherers had direct contact around 4,000 years ago, a study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States
The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.
- Humans
Artists who paint with their feet have ‘toe maps’ in their brains
Brain specialization comes with toe specialization in people who use their feet for painting, eating and writing.
- Humans
Culture helps shape when babies learn to walk
The culture in which a baby is raised can accelerate or slow down the development of early motor skills. Does it matter?
- Tech
A new prosthetic leg that senses touch reduces phantom pain
A prosthetic leg that can sense foot pressure and knee angle helped two men walk faster and reduced phantom leg pain.
- Humans
Supercooling tripled the shelf life of donor livers
Cooling organs to subzero temperatures could help them last longer, making lifesaving transplants available to more people.
- Humans
Vaping is suspected in a fifth death and hundreds of injuries
U.S. health officials can’t yet point to a substance or device that’s behind a rising number of severe lung injuries and deaths tied to e-cigarettes.
- Humans
The longest Dead Sea Scroll sports a salt finish that the others lack
A newly discovered salty lamination on the Temple Scroll could help explain why the ancient manuscript’s parchment is remarkably bright.
