Humans

  1. A headshot of Nobel Prize winner Svante Pääbo sitting next to and resting his hand on a skeleton
    Health & Medicine

    Genetics of human evolution wins 2022 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine

    By figuring out how to extract DNA from ancient bones, Svante Pääbo was able to decipher the genomes of our hominid relatives.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. photo of a woman holding and trying to settle a crying baby
    Humans

    How to get a crying baby to sleep, according to science

    Science has come up with a recipe for lulling a crying baby to sleep: Carry them for five minutes, sit for at least five more and then lay them down.

    By Deborah Balthazar
  3. Emily Jacobs and Caitlin Taylor look at images of the brain on a computer.
    Neuroscience

    Emily Jacobs wants to know how sex hormones sculpt the brain

    Emily Jacobs studies how the brain changes throughout women’s reproductive years, plus what it all means for health.

    By Cassie Martin
  4. Environmental engineer Smruthi Karthikeyan collects wastewater samples from a robot at the University of California, San Dieg
    Health & Medicine

    Smruthi Karthikeyan turned to wastewater to get ahead of COVID-19

    Smruthi Karthikeyan’s system for tracking the coronavirus gives lifesaving public health measures a head start.

    By Cassie Martin
  5. Christopher Barnes
    Health & Medicine

    Christopher Barnes is on a quest for a universal coronavirus vaccine

    Christopher Barnes wants to stop the viruses that cause COVID-19, the common cold and more.

    By Cassie Martin
  6. a composite of headshots of the 2022 SN10 scientists
    Science & Society

    Big questions inspire the scientists on this year’s SN 10 list

    These scientists to watch study climate change, alien worlds, human evolution, the coronavirus and more.

    By Science News Staff
  7. Tina Lasisi
    Anthropology

    Tina Lasisi wants to untangle the evolution of human hair

    Tina Lasisi is pioneering studies of human variation in an ethical and scientifically sound way.

    By Aina Abell
  8. a robotic pill-like device sits on pig intestine
    Health & Medicine

    This robotic pill clears mucus from the gut to deliver meds

    A whirling robotic pill wicks mucus from the gut, allowing intravenous drugs such as insulin to be given orally, experiments in pigs suggest.

    By Meghan Rosen
  9. image of someone watching a woman graduate on a video call
    Psychology

    The pandemic may be stunting young adults’ personality development

    People typically become less neurotic and more agreeable with age. The COVID-19 pandemic may have reversed those trends in adults younger than 30.

    By Sujata Gupta
  10. An X-ray image shows a person's jaw, including a tooth implant in the lower left jaw
    Health & Medicine

    False teeth could double as hearing aids

    Dental implants can conduct sound through jawbone, making them candidates for discreet, high-quality hearing aids, researchers say.

    By James R. Riordon
  11. painting on the side of a Maya vase that depicts a ruler speaking to a kneeling attendant while tamales are prepared
    Anthropology

    In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals

    Previously considered a preserve of Maya elites, cacao was consumed across all social strata, a new study finds.

    By Richard Kemeny
  12. illustration that shows a man wearing a face mask that contains a sensor, virus particles with arrows pointing to the mask, and a cell phone receiving a signal
    Health & Medicine

    This face mask can sense the presence of an airborne virus

    Within minutes of exposure, a sensor in a mask prototype can detect proteins from viruses that cause COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

    By Freda Kreier