Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
Ancient Romans may have been cozier with Huns than they let on
Nomadic Huns and Roman farmers shared ways of life on the Roman Empire’s fifth century frontier.
- Health & Medicine
Dengue fever spreads in a neighborly way
Individual strains of dengue spread locally, and new infections cluster near the home of the first person affected.
- Health & Medicine
Random mutations play large role in cancer, study finds
Mistakes made while copying DNA account for more mutations in cancer cells than environment or inheritance do.
- Health & Medicine
Touches early in life may make a big impact on newborn babies’ brains
The type and amount of touches a newborn baby gets in the first days of life may shape later responses to touch perception, a study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer cells cast a sweet spell on the immune system
Tumors have surface sugars that persuade the body’s defenses to look the other way. New therapies are being devised to break the trance.
- Neuroscience
Smartphones may be changing the way we think
We rely on our digital devices to connect with others and for memory and navigation shortcuts. What is that doing to our brains?
- Health & Medicine
See how bacterial blood infections in young kids plummeted after vaccines
Rates of pneumococcal bacteremia in children plummeted by 95 percent after the introduction of vaccines against Streptococcus bacteria.
- Science & Society
Online reviews can make over-the-counter drugs look way too effective
Online patient reviews put a far more misleading spin on medications than clinical trials do.
- Climate
Changing climate could worsen foods’ nutrition
Climate change could aggravate hidden hunger by sapping micronutrients from soils and plants, reducing nutrition in wheat, rice and other crops.
- Archaeology
Ancient dental plaque tells tales of Neandertal diet and disease
Researchers have reconstructed the diet and disease history of ancient Neandertals.
- Archaeology
Ancient dental plaque tells tales of Neandertal diet and disease
Researchers have reconstructed the diet and disease history of ancient Neandertals.
- Archaeology
Ancient nomadic herders beat a path to the Silk Road
Herders’ mountain treks helped mold the Silk Road, an ancient, cross-continental trade network.
