Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Psychology
People see own good but gossip about others’ misdeeds
Daily cellphone surveys probe the gap between the focus on personal virtue and negative chatter.
- Life
Vagina bacteria make molecules that could be drugs
Microbes on the human body are capable of producing thousands of small molecules that hold potential as drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental herpes drug outperforms first-line med
An experimental treatment for genital herpes suppresses the viral infection better than the standard drug, but animal tests raise concerns about side effects.
- Health & Medicine
Clinical trial reanalyses may alter who should get treated
Reanalyses of clinical trial data sometimes lead to different treatment suggestions.
- Health & Medicine
The (almost non-existent) science of potty training
When it comes to toilet training your child, science will offer you almost no help whatsoever.
- Microbes
Speedy test could improve treatment of urinary tract infections
A new test for drug-resistant bacteria may speed the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections.
- Ecosystems
Artifacts, fossils tell story of changes to Egypt’s animals
Ancient Egyptian artifacts and fossils from the Nile Valley show a correlation between species extinctions and a growing human population in a drying climate.
- Health & Medicine
Viruses can zoom through workplaces in hours
A virus on an office door handle can spread to more than half the people working there within a few hours.
- Health & Medicine
Injectable flu drug could add to weapons against infection
The experimental drug, given in a single shot, could prove useful in the event of a lethal flu pandemic.
- Archaeology
Pyramid builders could have used rolling blocks
Instead of sliding blocks on a ramp, ancient Egyptians could have rolled the massive bricks to the pyramids, a physicist suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Autism treatment for babies shows promise in small study
A small study finds that changing how parents interact with infants may reduce autism symptoms.
- Archaeology
More signs emerge of New World settlers before 20,000 years ago
Controversial stone tools of pre-Clovis humans have been excavated in South America.
