Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
‘Black Religion in the Madhouse’ examines psychiatry and race post-Civil War
In the aftermath of slavery, white psychiatrists diagnosed Black people with “religious excitement” and claimed they were unfit for freedom.
- Animals
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
Finding that vampire bats along Peru’s coast carried H5N1 antibodies raises concerns that multiple bat species could become reservoirs for the virus.
- Archaeology
Neandertals mastered fire-making tools 400,000 years ago
Archaeologists found flint, iron pyrite to strike it and sediments where a fire was probably built several times at an ancient site in England.
- Psychology
Some irritability is normal. Here’s when it’s not
Irritability is a normal response to frustrations, but it can sometimes signal an underlying mental health disorder, like depression or anxiety.
- Health & Medicine
GLP-1 drugs failed to slow Alzheimer’s in two big clinical trials
Tantalizing results from small trials and anecdotes raised hopes that drugs like Ozempic could help. Despite setbacks, researchers aren’t giving up yet.
- Anthropology
Drought may have doomed the ‘hobbits’ of Flores
Stalagmite data suggest Homo floresiensis faced prolonged drought that stressed both them and their prey, contributing to their disappearance.
- Health & Medicine
A CDC panel has struck down universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination
A reshaped vaccine committee voted to scale back newborn hepatitis B shots despite decades of data showing the birth dose is safe, effective and vital.
- Anthropology
Big Neandertal noses weren’t made for cold
Tiny cameras threaded inside a Neandertal skull provide evidence that their big noses were not an adaptation to cold climates.
- Health & Medicine
How a bacterial toxin linked to colon cancer messes with DNA
A closeup look at colibactin’s structure reveals chemical motifs that guide its mutation-wreaking “warheads” to specific stretches of DNA.
- Psychology
Chatbots spewing facts, and falsehoods, can sway voters
Chatbots that dole out fact-laden arguments can sway voters. Those facts don’t have to be true.
- Humans
Ancient southern Africans took genetic evolution in a new direction
An ancient, shared set of human-specific genes underwent changes in a geographically isolated population after around 300,000 years ago, scientists say.
- Health & Medicine
Self-hypnosis with cooling mental imagery could ease hot flashes
Postmenopausal women who listened to self-guided hypnosis recordings daily for six weeks saw meaningful improvements in hot flash symptoms.
