Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
The crust under Africa is thinning in a way that hasn’t been seen before
Africa’s Turkana Rift Zone, a hotbed of hominin fossils, is caught in the act of “necking," a critical transition toward continental breakup.
- Math
Jazz and classical music have become simpler, a new study finds
Mathematical analysis suggests that melodies and harmonies have become less complex as music evolves and musicians find new ways “to create great music.”
- Health & Medicine
Uterus transplants can provide a path to pregnancy and parenthood
Donated uteruses transplanted into women without a womb can allow for successful pregnancy and birth.
- Health & Medicine
Some South American rodent-borne viruses may spread as climate warms
Some rodents in South America carry arenaviruses and hantaviruses. Climate change may bring both to regions where neither is currently a threat.
- Psychology
Yawning is contagious — even in the womb
Rather than catching a yawn on sight, muscles squeezing the uterus could be the trigger for a fetus to catch a yawn from its mother.
- Neuroscience
Why some brain cells are particularly vulnerable to multiple sclerosis
DNA damage from inflammation outpaces the cells’ ability to self-repair. The finding, in human brain cells and mice, could point to new MS treatments.
- Neuroscience
25 people learned to fly with virtual wings. Here’s how the brain changed
A new study shows learning to fly in virtual reality with virtual wings can reshape the brain, making it treat wings more like body parts.
- Health & Medicine
A low-cost rotavirus test could save childrens’ lives in Nigeria
Nigerian virologist Margaret Oluwatoyin Japhet has designed a rapid test that could diagnose rotavirus at a child’s bedside.
- Archaeology
Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools
Finds at sites in Spain and France suggest that Neandertals used the teeth of ancient rhinos for heavy-duty fabrication.
- Health & Medicine
What to know about a rare hantavirus outbreak at sea
Public health officials are racing to find out how the sometimes deadly hantavirus got aboard a cruise ship and if there has been human-to-human spread.
- Health & Medicine
Do GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic prevent cancer?
Several studies have served up tantalizing hints about the drugs’ potential cancer prevention benefits, but other results land all over the map.
- Health & Medicine
Peptides are unproven as health aids. FDA may unleash them anyway
Rather than reining in the compounds, the FDA may be poised to broaden access, perhapas even adding peptides to supplements. Experts say “buyer beware.”
