Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
Skeleton of Western man found in ancient Mongolian tomb
A genetic analysis of a skeleton from an ancient Asian tomb illuminates the spread of Indo-Europeans.
- Health & Medicine
Neurons may function more solo than thought
Neurons coordinate activity less often than previously thought.
- Health & Medicine
Running barefoot blunts foot’s force
A new study finds that going shoeless tempers impact but can’t say whether this difference reduces injuries.
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- Climate
Indian climatologist disputes charges over Himalayan projection
London’s Sunday Mail reported that it had reached the author of a chapter in a purportedly authoritative 2007 climate-change assessment and learned that this scientist – Murari Lal – deliberately used unsubstantiated sources for conclusions about the rate of glacier melting in the Himalayas. Lal doesn’t dispute that mistakes were made – ones that likely exaggerated projections of glacier melting. But he does challenge the newspaper’s charge that those mistakes were politically motivated.
- Humans
Cigarettes might be infectious
Science & Society blog: The tobacco in cigarettes hosts a bacterial bonanza — literally hundreds of different germs, including those responsible for many human illnesses, a new study finds.
- Humans
Algae as biofuel still rough around the edges
Sources of nutrients, carbon dioxide can make or break this potential renewable fuel heavyweight
- Health & Medicine
Searing the heart for the better
Electrode-tipped catheter destroys heart tissue to stifle atrial fibrillation, sometimes performing better than meds, study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Millions of women at risk of malaria during pregnancy
Potential problems include undetected illness and anemia in mothers, stillbirth and low birth weight in newborns,
- Humans
Teacher anxieties may subtract from girls’ math scores
In first and second grade, female teachers’ insecurity with numbers may correlate to some girls’ doing poorly in math.
- Climate
IPCC’s Himalayan glacier ‘mistake’ not an accident
A London newspaper reports today that the unsubstantiated Himalayan-glacier melt figures contained in a supposedly authoritative 2007 report on climate warming were used intentionally, despite the report’s lead author knowing there were no data to back them up.
- Humans
Common stain repellent linked to thyroid disease
Long-term health study shows connection with blood levels of perfluorooctanoic acid.
