Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Computing
Going viral takes a posse, not an army
Quality of followers, not quantity, determines which tweets will fly
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- Life
Gene profiles may predict TB prognosis
A molecular profile may help doctors predict who will get sick from TB infections.
- Health & Medicine
Traffic may drive some people to diabetes
Urban air pollution — especially the particles and gases emitted by heavy traffic — can increase a senior citizen’s risk of developing type-2 diabetes, according to a new German study. If confirmed, its authors say, pollution would represent a “novel and potentially modifiable risk factor” for the metabolic disorder.
- Health & Medicine
Teen hearing loss rate worsens
The percentage of adolescents with some decline has increased since the 1990s, a study shows.
- Anthropology
Genome of a chief
Ancient DNA experts say they are analyzing a lock of Sitting Bull's hair.
- Humans
Most prisoners come from few neighborhoods
As overall crime rates declined in the United States, certain poor communities fueled a dramatic rise in incarceration rates.
- Health & Medicine
The high cost of diabetes
Although an estimated 7.8 percent of Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, patients with this metabolic disease rack up 23 percent of hospital costs nationwide, a new federal analysis finds. Their collective hospital bill in 2008, the most recent year for which data were available: almost $83 billion.
- Life
Muscles remember past glory
Extra nuclei produced by training survive disuse, making it easier to rebuild lost strength.
- Humans
Retirement at 62 boosts well-being
People who retire on the early side tend to feel better physically and emotionally than those who quit working earlier or later.
- Humans
Depressed teens not shunned
In high school, students with depression seek — rather than settle for — friends with similar moods.
- Humans
Sociologists looking at risky behavior plunge into the gene pool
A new study of youths reveals that social scientists’ opinions still vary on the potential of studying how genes interact with social contexts.
