Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
In a first, a woman with a uterus transplanted from a deceased donor gives birth
After receiving a uterus from a deceased donor, a woman gave birth to a healthy girl in December of 2017.
- Archaeology
Stone Age people conquered the Tibetan Plateau’s thin air
Stone tools that are at least 30,000 years old suggest that people settled the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau earlier than scientists thought.
- Health & Medicine
Around the world, reported measles cases jumped 31 percent in 2017
While the number of reported measles cases has dropped 80 percent from 2000 to 2017, high profile outbreaks pushed the 2017 total up from 2016.
- Archaeology
Stone-tool makers reached North Africa and Arabia surprisingly early
Ancient Homo species spread advances in toolmaking far beyond East Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Kids born in August are diagnosed with ADHD more than kids born in September
August-born kids have higher rates of ADHD diagnosis than kids born in September in U.S. states with a September 1 cutoff for starting kindergarten.
- Health & Medicine
A patch studded with tiny needles may help heart attack survivors recover
A bandage that sticks to the surface of the heart exudes proteins and other molecules that help muscle cells grow.
- Animals
Mosquitoes may surf winds above Africa more than we realized
More than 40 meters up, balloon traps in Mali caught females of malaria-spreading mosquito species.
- Environment
Engineers are plugging holes in drinking water treatment
Drinking water quality has come a long way in the past hundred years — but challenges remain.
- Science & Society
Do you know how your drinking water is treated?
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses drinking water quality in the United States and the latest research on water treatment technology.
- Health & Medicine
Don’t spank your kids. Do time-outs and positive talk instead, pediatricians say
A pediatrician group recommends against spanking children — ever — and points instead to positive reinforcement and time-outs to cool off.
- Archaeology
An exploding meteor may have wiped out ancient Dead Sea communities
An archaeological site not far from the Dead Sea shows signs of sudden, superheated collapse 3,700 years ago.
- Archaeology
A Bronze Age tomb in Israel reveals the earliest known use of vanilla
Residue of the aromatic substance in 3 jugs dates to around 3,600 years ago.
