Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Climate
Carbon emissions: Trend improves, but …
Sometimes what’s bad for the economy can be good for the planet. Or so argued Lester Brown, president of Earth Policy Institute, yesterday. This environmental trend spotter pointed to several developments that may have escaped our attention as the global economy alternately sputtered and entered periods of freefall throughout the past 18 months. Trend one: U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas, have taken a tumble.
- Chemistry
Tongue’s sour-sensing cells taste carbonation
A protein splits carbon dioxide to give fizz its unique flavor.
- Health & Medicine
Brain speed-reads using just one part
Scientists measure the speed of recognizing, manipulating and producing speech in human brains.
- Anthropology
Pygmies’ short stature linked to high death rates
Island-dwelling pygmies provide contested evidence that body size shrinks as mortality rates climb.
- Chemistry
Bad perfume: Cardboard’s intense scents
Wet cardboard and food should not share the same air space.
- Health & Medicine
Getting to the core of H1N1 flu deaths
Lung inflammation and a lack of oxygen in the blood appear responsible for most fatal cases of H1N1 (swine) flu, three studies show.
- Health & Medicine
H1N1 flu is back and found in 37 states, CDC reports
Just as vaccine begins to become available, swine flu cases show up in a majority of the United States. And early results from a new study suggest H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination shots are effective when given during the same visit.
- Humans
It’s time to reform work hours for resident physicians
A Harvard Medical School physician and sleep researcher says rules should be changed to make sure physicians-in-training get the sleep they need.
- Planetary Science
Award named for late Science News writer
Jonathan Eberhart's name lives on in a new planetary-sciences award.
- Life
Circadian clockwork takes unexpected turns
Some neurons in the brain’s master clock fall silent in the afternoon. The unexpected finding prompts scientists to rethink how the clock works.
- Health & Medicine
Retrovirus might be culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome
An obscure pathogen shows up often in people diagnosed with the condition, scientists find.
- Health & Medicine
Pigs use mirrors
After some time to play around with a mirror, pigs figure out what to do when they glimpse a reflection of food.
