Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Potential H7N9 bird flu vaccine shows promise
An early trial of a bird flu vaccine suggests that the treatment could be used to counter the potentially deadly H7N9 flu virus.
- Health & Medicine
With help from pig tissue, people regrow muscle
Noncellular material implanted in patients attracts stem cells to fix injuries.
- Science & Society
Students retain information better with pens than laptops
Compared with typing on a laptop, writing notes by hand may lead to deeper understanding of lecture material.
- Anthropology
Lake Huron holds 9,000-year-old hunting blinds
The human-made hunting blinds were arranged to drive caribou into a centralized "kill zone," suggesting cooperation among ancient hunters.
- Psychology
Babies learn some early words by touch
Tactile cues provided by caregivers give infants a leg up on learning words for body parts.
- Health & Medicine
Induced labor doesn’t necessarily kick off cascade of interventions
A large analysis of clinical trials finds that jump-starting labor actually leads to fewer C-sections, a finding that runs contrary to common birthing wisdom.
- Genetics
Y chromosome gets a closer examination
The Y chromosome may play a larger role in Turner syndrome and in health and disease differences between males and females than previously thought.
- Psychology
Word-streaming tech may spell trouble for readers
Technologies like Spritz that display one word at a time on a screen reduce reading comprehension, a new study concludes.
- Genetics
Farmers assimilated foragers as they spread agriculture
While some European hunter-gatherers remained separate, others mated with the early farmers that introduced agriculture to the continent.
- Humans
Could the menstrual cycle have shaped the evolution of music?
A new study suggesting that women select better musicians shows how women’s role in evolution is being redefined.
- Health & Medicine
Enzyme may help aspirin protect against colon cancer
Aspirin may not reduce colon cancer risk in people with low levels of a protective enzyme called 15-PGDH.
- Neuroscience
Pain curbs sex drive in females, but not males
When in pain, female mice’s interest in sex takes a hit but males still want to mate.
