Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Eyelashes’ special features help fling water from the eyes
Eyelashes “micro-ratchet” structure and curved shape help wick water away from the eyes.
- Health & Medicine
Telehealth helps people get health care, but access may soon be in limbo
COVID-era telehealth laws made health care more accessible for rural patients, but telehealth might not be as easy to access next year.
- Health & Medicine
Stage 0 breast cancer patients may not need to rush to surgery
Women with Stage 0 breast cancer who got biannual mammograms and delayed surgery for two years fared as well as those who got immediate surgery.
- Health & Medicine
Deaths related to the cold have grown since 1999 in the U.S.
From 1999 to 2022, the rate of cold-related deaths rose from about 4 per 1 million people to 9 per 1 million in the United States.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s how public health fared in 2024
Viral outbreaks, extreme heat and access to clean water are among the year’s big public health headlines.
- Archaeology
Archaeology’s top discoveries of 2024 include preserved brains and a lost city
From the plight of ancient Egyptian scribes to the identities of ancient Maya sacrifices, 2024 brought a rich medley of insights into human history.
- Anthropology
Britain’s largest ancient massacre may have included cannibalism
Bones recovered from a natural shaft unveil a 4,000-year-old massacre of men, women and children, possibly part of a cycle of revenge killings.
- Space
These discoveries in 2024 could be groundbreaking — if they’re true
Did microbes ever live on Mars? Did an "elevator" help build Egypt’s first pyramid? Some signs pointed to yes this year, but confirmation is still needed.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer screening and quitting smoking have saved nearly 6 million lives
Prevention, screening and treatment advances combined stopped 5.94 million deaths from cancer in the United States from 1975 through 2020.
- Anthropology
Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years
3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.
- Genetics
Neandertal genes in people today came from hook-ups around 47,000 years ago
Most present-day humans carry a small amount of Neandertal DNA that can be traced back to a single period of interbreeding, two genetic analyses find.
- Health & Medicine
These are the viruses that defined 2024
Here’s the latest on mpox, bird flu, dengue and other viral outbreaks that flared up this year.
