Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Got a weird COVID-19 symptom? You’re not alone
From head to COVID toe, doctors have seen a bevy of bizarre cases.
- Anthropology
Carvings on Australia’s boab trees reveal a generation’s lost history
Archaeologists and an Aboriginal family are working together to rediscover a First Nations group’s lost connections to the land.
- Health & Medicine
Louis Pasteur’s devotion to truth transformed what we know about health and disease
Two centuries after his birth, Louis Pasteur's work on pasteurization, germ theory and vaccines is as relevant as ever.
- Archaeology
Some Maya rulers may have taken generations to attract subjects
Commoners slowly granted authority to kings at the ancient Maya site of Tamarindito, researchers suspect.
- Health & Medicine
At a long COVID clinic, here’s how doctors are trying to help one woman who is struggling
As more people experience long-term health problems from COVID-19, long COVID clinics try to help patients manage symptoms, like brain fog and fatigue.
- Humans
The world population has now reached 8 billion
In a first, the global population surpassed this milestone on November 15, according to a projection from the United Nations.
- Health & Medicine
Why daylight saving time just isn’t healthy, according to science
Shifting daylight from morning to evening puts our bodies and brains out of sync with our clocks, leading to a host of potential health issues.
- Health & Medicine
DNA is providing new clues to why COVID-19 hits people differently
Age, general health and vaccinations can affect how sick people get with COVID-19. So can genes. Here are new hints of what’s going on in our DNA.
- Archaeology
50 years ago, Stonehenge’s purpose mystified scientists. It still does
In 1972, scientists thought Stonehenge may have been a calendar. Today, we still don’t know its purpose, but we have gained insight on its origin.
- Health & Medicine
This child was treated for a rare genetic disease while still in the womb
Babies born with infantile-onset Pompe disease typically have enlarged hearts and weak muscles. But 1-year-old Ayla has a normal heart and walks.
- Humans
This ancient Canaanite comb is engraved with a plea against lice
The Canaanite comb bears the earliest known instance of a complete sentence written in a phonetic alphabet, researchers say.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s how mysterious last-resort antibiotics kill bacteria
Scientists are finally getting a grip on how a class of last-resort antibiotics works — the drugs kill bacteria by crystallizing their membranes.
