Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Splitting families may end, but migrant kids’ trauma needs to be studied
The long-term effects of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border need to be studied, scientists say.
- Health & Medicine
How to help your toddler be helpful (with caveats)
Even very young toddlers like to help, a social skill that’s linked to later success in school and life.
- Psychology
Phone apps are helping scientists track suicidal thoughts in real time
Researchers are using smartphones to tap into the ups and downs of suicidal thinking that occur over hours and days, hoping to help prevent suicides.
- Health & Medicine
The number of teens who report having sex is down
About 40 percent of high school students are having sex, the lowest amount in the last three decades.
- Humans
What I actually learned about my family after trying 5 DNA ancestry tests
Ancestry results vary widely depending on which company you use.
- Genetics
DNA testing can bring families together, but gives mixed answers on ethnicity
DNA testing has become a new way for millions of Americans to expand their family trees and learn something about themselves, but results vary widely.
- Astronomy
Readers were curious about pendulum saws, laser tweezers and more
Readers had questions about Bronze Age pendulum saws, dark matter, lazer tweezers and more.
- Health & Medicine
Kids with food allergies are twice as likely to have autism
Children with food allergies are more likely to have autism than kids without, a study finds. But that doesn’t mean a child will develop the disorder.
- Health & Medicine
If you thought the most recent flu season was bad, you were right
The recent U.S. flu season was classified as highly severe overall, the third time since 2003 that the seasonal outbreak has earned that designation.
- Archaeology
This theory suggests few workers were needed to cap Easter Island statues
A small workforce may have put huge stones on the heads of Easter Island statues.
- Health & Medicine
Suicide rates have shot up in almost every U.S. state
Suicide rates increased sharply in nearly all 50 states from 1999 to 2016, according to a new government report.
- Health & Medicine
At-home telomere testing is not a reliable marker of aging, researcher says
Telomere testing for consumers offers a poor measure of “biological age,” says Johns Hopkins oncologist Mary Armanios.
