Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
The right sounds may turn sleep into a problem-solving tool
Lucid dreamers who heard puzzle-linked soundtracks while sleeping were more likely to solve those unsolved problems the next day.
- Health & Medicine
Over 40? Your rotator cuff probably looks a little rough
MRI scans of over 600 Finnish adults found that nearly all had frayed, torn or otherwise abnormal rotator cuffs — yet most had no symptoms.
- Health & Medicine
Simulations of your gut may predict which probiotics will stick
A “digital gut” predicted which probiotics and high‑fiber diets would take hold in people's guts and produce healthier outcomes.
- Health & Medicine
A rising percentage of U.S. teens aren’t getting enough sleep
Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. A large majority get less than that, according to a national survey of U.S. high school students.
- Anthropology
The ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ gets a new face
A new digital reconstruction of the face of an early Australopithecus specimen helps add details about the origins of our own species.
- Neuroscience
Why is math harder for some kids? Brain scans offer clues
Kids with math learning disabilities process number symbols differently than quantities shown as dots — and it shows up in MRIs.
- Anthropology
Mosquitoes began biting humans more than a million years ago
A DNA analysis suggests mosquitoes shifted from nonhuman primates to early humans nearly 2 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Can you trust the results from gut microbiome tests? Maybe not
Seven firms reported inconsistent results on the same sample, some over multiple tests. These gut microbe discrepancies could have health consequences.
- Life
An African monkey ate a rope squirrel and came down with mpox
Fecal analyses and necropsies suggest a fire-footed rope squirrel was the source of a 2023 mpox outbreak among sooty mangabeys in Côte d’Ivoire.
- Health & Medicine
A lab on wheels is tracking HIV spread in war-torn Ukraine
During a test drive, the mobile lab van uncovered a drug-resistant HIV strain that sprung up after the ongoing war with Russia started.
- Archaeology
Iron Age mass grave may hold unusual victims: mostly women and children
A land dispute may have led to the massacre 3,000 years ago, suggesting Europe’s transition to farming wasn’t always peaceful.
- Genetics
Wanderlust may be written in our DNA
A new study suggests that inherited traits explain a small but measurable share of why some people relocate far from where they were born.
