Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Drinking studies muddied the waters around the safety of alcohol use
Studies claiming that alcohol in even small amounts is dangerous weren’t designed to address risks of moderate drinking.
- Anthropology
Human smarts got a surprisingly early start
Human ingenuity began on treks across Asia and in fluctuating African habitats.
- Psychology
Sometimes a failure to replicate a study isn’t a failure at all
Ego depletion is one of the most well-known concepts in social psychology. A recent study can’t confirm an old one showing it exists. Who is right? Probably everyone.
- Archaeology
Corn domestication took some unexpected twists and turns
A DNA study challenges the idea people fully tamed maize in Mexico before the plant spread.
- Health & Medicine
Babies born in opioid withdrawal have unusually small heads
Infants born dependent on opioids had heads that were smaller than babies whose moms didn’t use the drugs during pregnancy.
- Health & Medicine
Many babies are crummy sleepers, confirming what millions of parents already know
A new survey suggests that lots and lots of babies aren’t sleeping through the night. The results may prompt new parents to lower their expectations.
- Humans
‘Little Foot’ skeleton analysis reignites debate over the hominid’s species
Long-awaited analyses of the Little Foot skeleton have researchers disagreeing over resurrecting a defunct species name.
- Health & Medicine
A gut-brain link for Parkinson’s gets a closer look
Early evidence suggests that Parkinson’s may be a gut disease that affects the brain.
- Health & Medicine
Two new books explore the science and history of the 1918 flu pandemic
One-hundred years after the Spanish flu, ‘Pandemic 1918’ and ‘Influenza’ provide a new look at the global outbreak.
- Genetics
A 5,000-year-old mass grave harbors the oldest plague bacteria ever found
DNA from an ancient strain of the plague-causing bacterium could help uncover the origins of the deadly disease.
- Health & Medicine
Baboons survive 6 months after getting a pig heart transplant
A team of German scientists used new methods to successfully transplant genetically modified and fully functioning pig hearts into baboons.
- Science & Society
Seeking a panacea in the gut’s microbiome
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the potential role of the gut microbiome in Parkinson's disease and one reporter's connection to the story.
