Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
How humans (maybe) domesticated themselves
Prior to taming other species, humans selected for more docile traits among fellow Homo sapiens, a slew of recent studies suggest.
- Genetics
Double-duty DNA plays a role in birth and death
Coronary artery disease may be the price humans pay for improved fertility.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s how a child sees a Van Gogh painting
Children’s eyes are drawn to vivid, bright and bold parts of Van Gogh paintings. But they can shift their viewing strategies with a little prompting, a new study suggests.
- Anthropology
The southern drawl gets deconstructed
Analysis of the diversity of vowel sounds found in southern accents could help developers of speech recognition software.
- Health & Medicine
Getting a flu ‘shot’ could soon be as easy as sticking on a Band-Aid
Microneedle patches may make home-based vaccination a reality.
- Anthropology
Carved human skulls found at ancient worship center in Turkey
Visitors to an ancient ritual site may have carved human skulls as part of ancestor worship.
- Science & Society
Latest stats are just a start in preventing gun injuries in kids
New stats on firearm deaths and injuries are disturbing, but the picture to make policy is far from complete, researchers say.
- Archaeology
Sound-reflecting shelters inspired ancient rock artists
Ancient Europeans sought rock art sites where sounds carried.
- Health & Medicine
When should babies sleep in their own rooms?
A new study offers support to sleep-starved parents by suggesting that babies age 6 months and older sleep longer when in their own bedroom.
- Health & Medicine
Bones make hormones that communicate with the brain and other organs
Bones send out hormone signals that chat with other parts of the body, studies in mice show. What influence these hormones have in people, though, remain a mystery.
- Health & Medicine
Protein in Parkinson’s provokes the immune system
The immune system recognizes parts of a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease as foreign, triggering an autoimmune response.
- Health & Medicine
A baby’s DNA may kick off mom’s preeclampsia
A large genetic analysis points to a protein made by the fetus that may trigger preeclampsia in the mom.
