Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Designer T cells emerge as weapons against disease
Decades of attempts to boost the immune system’s ability to fight disease are finally starting to pay off. Reprogrammed T cells serve as new weapons against cancer and autoimmune diseases.
- Tech
Lasers heal damaged rodent teeth
Handheld laser spurs stem cells into action, regrowing dentin in drilled teeth.
- Archaeology
First pants worn by horse riders 3,000 years ago
A new study indicates horse-riding Asians wove and wore wool trousers by around 3,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Separating wheat from chaff in gluten sensitivity
Some people who think they are sensitive to gluten might not be after all: Fermentable short chain carbohydrates, or FODMAPs, may be to blame in people with irritable bowel syndrome.
- Health & Medicine
Baby’s first bacteria arrive sooner than we thought
Forget what you’ve heard. The womb is most definitely not sterile.
- Animals
Zebra finches can detect variations in human speech
When humans vary the pitch or rhythm of their speech, zebra finches perceive the changes, suggesting that the ability to detect such variations is not linked to language.
- Life
Starchy foods more filling than fiber, lab tests suggest
Tests of gut microbe digestion of potato starch and fiber suggest that moving away from grass-heavy ancestral diets may not be the reason for obesity epidemic.
- Anthropology
Richard III to be reburied in Leicester Cathedral
The remains of Richard III will be reburied in Leicester, a British court ruled on May 23.
- Psychology
Recessions take a lasting toll on narcissism
Coming of age in hard economic times makes people less likely to feel superior and entitled later in life.
- Health & Medicine
Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you
Despite what the Internet says, urine does contain bacteria, a new study finds. And so does your brain, the womb, and pretty much everywhere else.
- Health & Medicine
Parasite protein offers new hope for malaria vaccine
A newly discovered malarial protein triggers the immune system to trap disease-causing parasites in red blood cells. The protein offers scientists a promising target for vaccines.
- Neuroscience
Life span lengthens when mice feel less pain
When rodents are missing a sensory protein, their metabolism revs up and they live longer.
