Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
Liquid salts break through armored bacteria on skin
Compounds called ionic liquids can penetrate bacterial biofilms on skin to deliver antibiotics to potentially life-threatening infections.
- Health & Medicine
States’ pot laws linked to drug overdose death rates
Death rates from drug overdoses appear to be lower in states with medical marijuana laws.
- Psychology
Hypothesis on evolution of PMS attracts hostility
A new hypothesis states that PMS is evolutionarily useful for making women leave an infertile partnership. But other scientists question whether the hypothesis is reasonable or, in fact, even necessary.
- Anthropology
Richard III ate like a king before biting the dust
King Richard III’s brief reign included a sudden shift to eating fancy food and drink.
- Health & Medicine
‘NOVA’ takes science’s side in vaccine debate
A TV documentary dissects concerns about vaccinations and spells out the science supporting their use.
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- Life
Test drug stops Marburg virus in monkeys
Using a nano-size piece of RNA, scientists have stopped Marburg virus in monkeys.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental drugs and vaccines poised to take on Ebola
The use of experimental drugs and vaccines against Ebola may turn the tide against an outbreak in Africa that has defied efforts to control it.
- Genetics
Long before Columbus, seals brought tuberculosis to South America
Evidence from the skeletons of ancient Peruvians shows that seals may have brought tuberculosis across an ocean from Africa.
- Anthropology
Earlier dates for Neandertal extinction cause a fuss
Revised dates suggest Neandertals coexisted with modern humans for several thousand years in Europe before disappearing 40,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Study puts numbers to post-baby sleepiness
Many moms aren’t getting good sleep months after giving birth, reports a new study and every mother ever.
- Health & Medicine
Taking lab mice back to their roots
Lab mice are incredibly useful for biomedical research. But they are also incredibly inbred. A new study shows that bringing wild mouse traits back could help uncover new links between genes and behavior.
