Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
What’s the future of deep brain stimulation for depression?
The final story of the series describes efforts to simplify and improve brain implants for severe depression.
- Anthropology
Interlocking logs may be evidence of the oldest known wooden structure
Roughly 480,000-year-old wooden find from Zambia suggests early hominids were more skilled at structuring their environments than scientists realized.
- Health & Medicine
Why sewage may hold the key to tracking diseases far beyond COVID-19
COVID-19, mpox and many other pathogens are detectable in wastewater, but public health officials are still figuring out how best to use those data.
- Health & Medicine
A catalog of all human cells reveals a mathematical pattern
Smaller cells occur in larger numbers in the human body, and cells of different size classes contribute equally to our overall mass.
- Health & Medicine
Doctors found a live python parasite in a woman’s brain
The infection is the first known case of the worm Ophidascaris robertsi in a person. It’s not the only type of worm that can infect human brains.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists grow humanized kidneys in pig embryos
The work represents an important advance in the methods needed to grow humanized kidneys, hearts, and pancreases in animals.
- Neuroscience
Bone marrow in the skull could be used to monitor Alzheimer’s, MS and more
New observations of skull cell signals and skull tunnels suggest bone marrow there could be used to monitor neurological diseases.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, X-rays provided an unprecedented look inside the brain
CT scans can now image the whole body and are even used in other scientific fields such as archaeology, zoology and physics.
- Health & Medicine
A classical lullaby helped reduce newborns’ pain during heel pricks
Methods to lessen pain for newborns during routine procedures include cuddling and a dose of a sugar solution. Music also appears promising.
- Anthropology
Extreme cold may have nearly wiped out human ancestors 900,000 years ago
Ancestral populations had rebounded by about 800,000 years ago, heralding the evolution of people today, a contested DNA analysis suggests.
- Archaeology
Ancient Egyptian jars hint at complex mummification balms
Residue from ancient jars holding the internal organs of the mummy Senetnay hints at early Egyptian trade routes and complex mummification practices.
- Health & Medicine
The weight-loss drug Wegovy may also help treat addiction
Recent studies in mice and rats suggest that semaglutide drugs, like Wegovy, can curb some addictions. Several human trials are underway.
