Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
How deep brain stimulation works for Parkinson’s
New studies in rodents show that methods that are less invasive than deep brain stimulation may help people with Parkinson's disease regain movement.
- Psychology
Feelings, universal musical feelings
Africans who spurn all things Western provide evidence that people everywhere recognize expressions of happiness, sadness and fear in music. Listen to some of the audio samples the study used.
- Earth
Vitamin E shields lungs from smog effects
The "other" vitamin E shows promise in being able to shield the lungs and nasal passages from ozone damage.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine could protect against virus that causes birth defects
An experimental vaccine against cytomegalovirus has the ability to prevent infection half the time it’s administered, suggesting the vaccine might prevent birth defects the virus can cause.
- Health & Medicine
Ouch! Way worse than plagiarism
Featured blog: A doctor's hospital outed him for long-standing fabrication of data in papers that served as the basis for widely respected strategies to manage pain associated with surgery.
- Health & Medicine
MicroRNAs provide telltale signature of organ rejection
Levels of microRNAs in the blood and tissue distinguish rejected transplants from healthy tissue.
- Health & Medicine
Gradual treatment of peanut allergies shows promise
A slow and incremental introduction of peanuts into the diet helps some children overcome an allergy to the food, but it takes time and close supervision.
- Humans
Radio relief for Rwandans’ social conflicts
Rwandans who listened to a yearlong radio soap opera developed increased tolerance for dissent, a greater sense of cooperation and more acceptance of marriage across ethnic lines.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists find a soup of suspects while probing milk’s link to cancer
Latest studies focus on estrogens, androgens and IGF-1.
- Health & Medicine
Bottled water may contain ‘hormones’: Glass
Some mineral water appears to have been tainted prior to bottling.
- Health & Medicine
Reading the patterns of spatial memories
Researchers can tell where participants are standing in a virtual world by “seeing” memories of the journey.
- Chemistry
Bottled water may contain ‘hormones’: Plastics
New concerns arise over the presence of hormonelike pollutants in plastic food packaging.
