Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
You may already have some protection from bird flu, but don’t count on it
Studies suggest that people who had seasonal flus or vaccinations have low antibody levels against H5N1 bird flu.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing sick faces may prime the immune system to repel invaders
Seeing sick-looking faces in virtual reality triggers brain circuit changes related to threat detection and boosts activity of certain immune cells.
- Archaeology
Maggots may have been on the Neandertal menu
Maggots on rotting meat may have given Neandertals’ a fatty, nitrogen-rich boost, a study of their bones suggests.
- Health & Medicine
AI is designing proteins that could help treat cancer
A team used generative AI to enhance T cells’ ability to fight melanoma. The immunotherapy approach needs more testing before use in cancer patients.
- Health & Medicine
An injected gel could make drugs like Ozempic last longer
GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss are difficult for some people to inject weekly. A new slow-release gel, tested in rats, could help.
- Health & Medicine
How many steps a day do you really need to take?
An analysis of 57 studies shows that people who walked a certain number of steps were less likely to die from any cause compared with those who walked less.
- Health & Medicine
Climate change may be pushing fungal allergy season earlier
Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may be lengthening fungal allergy season, which starts 3 weeks earlier than it did two decades ago.
- Archaeology
AI reveals new details about a famous Latin inscription
An analysis of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti using AI reveals its legal tone and imperial messaging, offering new insights missed by historians.
- Humans
Forget discrete droplets. This is how sweat really forms
The most-detailed look yet at how we perspire reveals that beads of sweat are out, puddling is in.
- Science & Society
Screen addiction affects teens’ mental health. How to spot it, and help
Banning screens is often not an option. So Science News spoke with experts studying screen use and addiction in teens to help families navigate this complex issue.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. measles outbreaks may end a hard-won victory over the virus
Dropping vaccination rates and changes in U.S. vaccine policy have public health experts concerned that annual measles outbreaks could become more frequent.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s how air pollution may trigger lung cancer
Exposure to air pollution may trigger DNA mutations that cause lung cancer in nonsmokers.
