Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
Headache tree is a pain in the brain
Following a gardener’s lead, researchers discover an ingredient in bay laurel that causes uncomfortable swelling of cranial blood vessels.
- Life
Axing molecular zombies may slow aging
Killing off dormant cells slows the decline of mice genetically engineered to grow old fast.
- Humans
Humans’ entry into Europe pushed earlier
Homo sapiens fossils from Italy and England point to an early arrival and a longer time living alongside Neandertals.
- Physics
The sound of screech
Auditory experts decipher the blood-curdling nature of fingernails on a chalkboard.
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- Health & Medicine
Brain gene activity changes through life
Studies track biochemical patterns from just after conception to old age.
- Humans
Facebook value overstated, study finds
Some estimates of the social networking site's worth appear to make impossible assumptions.
- Psychology
Digital bounty hunters unleashed
Internet technique shows promise as fast way to mobilize huge problem-solving teams.
- Humans
Infected bats can recover . . . with lots of help
Researchers reported new data today confirming that with enough coddling, many heavily infected bats can recover. The rub: These scientists also pointed out that there really aren’t sufficient resources to save more than a handful this way.
- Health & Medicine
HPV vaccine recommended for boys
A federal panel expands the reach of shots as a separate new study shows the immunizations prevent precancerous anal lesions.
- Earth
A particulate threat to diabetics
As levels of soot and other fine air pollutants increased, so did blood pressure in patients whose disease was not well-controlled, a study finds.
- Life
Gene makes some pilots get rusty faster
A common DNA variant affects the pace of age-related decline in performance on skilled tasks like flying a plane.
