Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Modern-day trackers reinterpret Stone Age cave footprints
African trackers help researchers interpret ancient human footprints in French caves.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Human laugh lines traced back to ape ancestors
Chimps make laughing faces that speak to evolution of human ha-ha’s.
By Bruce Bower - Archaeology
Bronze Age humans racked up travel miles
A new study indicates long journeys and unexpected genetic links in Bronze Age Eurasian cultures.
- Health & Medicine
Rotavirus vaccine is proving its worth
Rotavirus vaccination cuts childhood intestinal infection hospitalizations in half.
By Meghan Rosen - Life
MERS virus didn’t morph in its move to South Korea
No obvious changes in the MERS virus account for its rapid spread in South Korea.
- Life
Tracing molecules’ movement in nails may help fight fungus
Tracking chemicals through the human nail may provide valuable insight for drug development.
- Health & Medicine
Fly spit protein holds back parasite infection in monkeys
A protein called PdS15 found in the saliva of the sand fly that spreads leishmaniasis may be used in a vaccine to combat the parasitic scourge causing the illness.
- Health & Medicine
Deadly MERS spreads in small cluster in South Korea
Thirty people have MERS virus in the South Korean outbreak, including China’s first case.
- Health & Medicine
An antidepressant may protect against Ebola
Zoloft and a heart drug keep most mice alive after exposure to Ebola.
By Nathan Seppa -
- Health & Medicine
Why breast-feeding really can be easier the second time around
The body remembers how to make milk, a mouse study suggests. Something similar may happen in humans.
- Anthropology
Chimps prefer roasted potatoes, hinting at origins of cooking
Chimps really dig roasted potatoes, suggesting cooking arose millions of years ago.
By Bruce Bower