Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, contraception options focused on women
Women have more birth control choices than they did 50 years ago. The same can’t be said for men.
- Health & Medicine
Language heard, but never spoken, by young babies bestows a hidden benefit
Adults who as babies heard but never spoke Korean benefited from their latent language knowledge decades later, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Readers question mental health research
Maintaining mental health, protecting ocean critters and more in reader feedback.
- Health & Medicine
Engineered immune cells boost leukemia survival for some
Engineered immune cells can extend life for some leukemia patients.
- Environment
When coal replaces a cleaner energy source, health is on the line
Health concerns prompted a shift from nuclear power to coal. But that shift came with its own health troubles, a new study suggests.
- Psychology
Out-of-body experiments show kids’ budding sense of self
Sensing that “my body is me” starts early and develops over many years.
- Health & Medicine
Getting dengue first may make Zika infection much worse
Experiments in cells and mice suggest that a previous exposure to dengue or West Nile can make a Zika virus infection worse.
- Health & Medicine
For kids, daily juice probably won’t pack on the pounds
An analysis of existing studies suggests that regular juice drinking isn’t linked to much weight gain in kids.
- Anthropology
Neandertals had an eye for patterns
Neandertals carved notches in a raven bone, possibly to produce a pleasing or symbolic pattern, scientists say.
- Health & Medicine
Spray-on mosquito repellents are more effective than other devices
To avoid mosquito bites, stick with spray-on repellents and skip the bracelets and citronella candles, a new study says.
- Health & Medicine
Don’t put greasy Q-tips up your kid’s nose, and other nosebleed advice
Nosebleeds in children are common and usually nothing to fret about.
- Archaeology
Palace remains in Mexico point to ancient rise of centralized power
An ancient royal structure gets new life in southern Mexico.
