Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
As bird flu evolves, keeping it out of farm flocks is getting harder
New versions of the H5N1 virus are increasingly adept at spreading. Suggestions to either let it rip in poultry or vaccinate the birds could backfire.
- Health & Medicine
These 5 nutrients might be lacking in your diet
U.S. diets should include more of vitamins D and E, fiber, calcium and magnesium — all are essential nutrients that could offer health benefits.
- Anthropology
A drowned landscape held clues to the lives of ancient human relatives
The remains of extinct Homo erectus dredged from the seabed off Java, along with thousands of animal fossils, are revealing a long-lost ecosystem.
- Health & Medicine
Chronic low back pain may be less likely if you walk – a lot
Adults who walked more than 100 minutes per day were less likely to have chronic low back pain than those who walked fewer than 78 minutes per day.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine policy in the U.S. is entering uncharted territory
A key advisory group vows to base decisions on evidence, boost confidence in vaccines and protect health. Experts fear the opposite is happening.
- Health & Medicine
A new diabetes treatment could free people from insulin injections
In a small cell therapy trial, 10 out of 12 people with type 1 diabetes no longer needed supplemental insulin, even a year after treatment.
- Health & Medicine
This painless nanoneedle patch might one day replace certain biopsies
Using millions of tiny needles, the patch samples molecular data from inside cells without damaging them, providing intel on composition in minutes.
- Health & Medicine
See how the herpesvirus reshapes our cells’ DNA in just eight hours
New imaging tools reveal how within an hour of infection, the virus begins to alter our chromosomes to kick-start its own replication.
- Climate
Harmful heat doesn’t always come in waves
Even without reaching heat wave levels, sustained high temperatures may contribute to a litany of health issues.
- Psychology
AI can measure our cultural history. But is it accurate?
Art and literature hint at past people’s psyches. Now computers can identify patterns in those cognitive fossils, but human expertise remains crucial.
- Health & Medicine
Many U.S. babies may lack gut bacteria that train their immune systems
Too little Bifidobacterium, used to digest breast milk, in babies' gut microbiomes can increase their risk of developing allergies and asthma.
- Health & Medicine
Mailed self-sample kits boosted cervical cancer screening
People who are uninsured or part of a minority racial or ethnic group are underscreened for cervical cancer. Mailing them a self-sample kit may help.
