Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Vitamin D targets increased
A panel advises raising the dietary allowance for the nutrient, but some scientists say the new recommendations are still woefully low.
- Humans
World could heat up 4 degrees C in 50 years
Immediate and substantial action to reduce emissions would be needed to meet climate negotiators' goal of holding warming to a 2 degree Celsius increase, a new package of scientific papers concludes.
- Health & Medicine
A few stray hairs
Brain regions that sense the world can also flick a whisker, research in mice shows, suggesting that the organ’s division of labor is not so clear-cut.
- Health & Medicine
Antiretroviral drugs may prevent HIV infection
Gay and bisexual men who don’t have the AIDS virus can reduce their risk of getting it by taking a drug combination, a new study finds.
- Tech
Newfound water risk: Lead-leaching valves
Hidden elements in drinking-water lines can shed large amounts of lead, a toxic heavy metal. And it's quite legal, even if it does skirt the intent of federal regulations.
- Humans
Visor might protect troops from blasts
Computer simulations show that the current military helmet lets explosive forces into the head through the face.
- Humans
Wine-trashing microbe identified
In finding the source of the off-tasting molecule MDMP, researchers hope to point the way to eliminating it.
- Psychology
Shared talking styles herald new and lasting romance
Verbally in-sync conversations may help to start and maintain dating relationships.
- Humans
Extra weight in early childhood foretells later disease risk
A study tracking kids from birth into young adulthood identifies ages 2 to 6 as most crucial for predicting later problems with metabolic syndrome.
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- Paleontology
Ancient trumpets played eerie notes
Acoustic scientists re-create and analyze sounds from 3,000-year-old shell instruments for insight into pre-Inca civilization.
- Tech
Lots of blame over BP well blowout, panel reports
Crews responsible for drilling BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, this past spring, missed plenty of signs that a catastrophic accident was looming, according to a November 17 interim report by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council.
