Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Glowing amino acid lights up growing brain cancer
By adding a tracer compound that sticks to the amino acid glutamine, researchers may be able to discern and monitor cancerous tissues in the brain.
- Psychology
Adults with autism are left to navigate a jarring world
Researchers are beginning to study ways to help adults with autism navigate independently, get jobs and find friendship.
- Health & Medicine
Bouncing back from giving blood can take months
Taking iron supplements after donating blood can dramatically reduce the time it takes to recover iron levels in the blood, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers
Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.
- Health & Medicine
Signs of sleep debt found in the blood
When rats and people skimp on sleep, fats and acids involved in metabolism dwindle.
- Neuroscience
Shots of brain cells restore learning, memory in rats
Scientists healed damage caused to rats’ brains from radiation by injecting cells that replenish the insulation on neurons.
- Health & Medicine
Handheld device turns smartphone into diagnostic tool
A compact device can process a blood sample to diagnose HIV or syphilis when attached to a smartphone.
- Health & Medicine
E-cigarettes lower immunity to flu and other germs
Electronic cigarettes produce substantial amounts of lung inflammation, a new mouse study finds. They may also reduce the ability to fight off infections from strep and flu germs.
- Humans
Baby brains undergo dramatic changes in utero
Developing human brains experience more than 28,000 changes in a molecular process that governs gene activity.
- Anthropology
Ancient Maya bookmakers get paged in Guatemala
New discoveries peg ritual specialists as force behind bark-paper tomes and wall murals.
- Health & Medicine
Even when correct, diagnoses can harm kids
Overdiagnosis is well documented in adults but is often overlooked in children and can lead to unnecessary treatments.
- Neuroscience
Newly identified brain circuit could be target for treating obesity
In mice, specific nerve cells control compulsive sugar consumption, but not normal feeding, hinting at a new therapeutic target for treating obesity.
