Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
Bundles of cells hint at biological differences of autistic brains
Using miniature organoids that mimic the human brain, scientists have identified developmental differences between autistic children and their non-autistic family members.
- Health & Medicine
In children, a sense of time starts early
Minutes, hours, days and years start to take on new meaning as children acquire a deeper concept of time.
- Life
Shifted waking hours may pave the way to shifting metabolism
Shift workers are at higher risk for obesity and metabolic problems. Scientists are working hard to understand why the night shift makes our hormones go awry.
- Life
The origin of biological clocks
Most of Earth’s creatures keep time with the planet’s day/night cycle. Scientists are still debating how and why the circadian clocks that govern biological timekeeping evolved.
- Anthropology
Tooth, jaw fossils tell tale of North America’s last nonhuman primates
Oregon fossils provide new clues to North America’s last nonhuman primates.
- Health & Medicine
Potential pain treatment’s mechanism deciphered
Scientists have new insight as to how a class of environment-sensing bone marrow cells can help safely relieve pain.
- Science & Society
How English became science’s lingua franca
A new book explores the roles of war, politics and economics in the rise of English in scientific communication.
- Anthropology
Monkey’s small brain shows surprising folds
An ancient monkey’s tiny brain developed folds, raising questions about primate evolution.
- Life
Women blush when ovulating, and it doesn’t matter a bit
Women don’t signal their fertility in obvious ways like nonhuman primates. A new study shows that even skin flushes are too subtle to detect.
- Genetics
Gene therapy restores hearing in mice
Scientists have used gene therapy to restore hearing in deaf mice.
- Health & Medicine
New cases of Ebola emerge in Liberia
Liberia has recorded three new Ebola cases after being declared free of the disease in May.
- Life
Age isn’t just a number
Getting old happens faster for some, and the reason may be in the blood.
