Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Where choices happen
Different types of decisions are made in different areas of the brain’s frontal lobes, scientists say.
- Humans
Playing for real in a virtual world
Preteen boys and girls interacting in a virtual world display the same contrasting play styles that have been observed in real-world settings.
- Humans
U.S. science remains far from ‘its rightful place’
Rush Holt, a plasma physicist by training, represents New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress. From 1989 to 1998, Holt was assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, a research institute focused on fusion as an alternate energy source. Holt was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. Recently, staff writer […]
- Physics
Science Stimulus
Researchers look to the new administration to bring fresh perspectives to health, energy, climate policy and science funding.
- Anthropology
Modern feet step back 1.5 million years
Researchers say that 1.5-million-year-old footprints discovered in eastern Africa show that a human ancestor had modern-looking feet and walked much like people do today.
- Health & Medicine
What’s good for the heart is good for the prostate
A new study finds that lower cholesterol levels slow the growth of prostate tumors in mice.
- Climate
Obama’s budget would boost science
Featured blog: Here's a preview of what science programs the Obama administration plans to push in the coming year's federal budget.
- Health & Medicine
Stick to a low-cal diet and it will work
Summary: Overweight people on low-calorie diets lose weight equally well despite differences in how much fat, protein or carbohydrates the diet allows.
- Health & Medicine
Women: How bad is a regular nip?
Featured blog: A new study on alcohol and cancer deserves to be interpreted with a bit of caution.
- Life
Prions complicit in Alzheimer’s disease
A study in mice suggests a version of prion proteins, which are known to cause the brain-wasting mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, may also play a role in neuron malfunction.
- Humans
DOE wants to become more like Bell Labs
Steven Chus prizes DOE's research prowess, but not it's ability to marshall its discoveries into marketable innovations.
- Life
Tastes like metal
Scientists have discovered that proteins that help sense sweet and spice also help taste metals.
