Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Obama Could Learn from ‘Junk Bros.’
Think what TV brothers who recycle trash could do with the outmoded structure of federal agencies.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Biological Cadre Turns Political
Conservation scientists lobby the presidential-transition team to select an Interior Secretary who respects and defends science.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Lack of sleep has genetic link with type 2 diabetes
Large genomic studies show body rhythms, melatonin may influence sugar levels in the blood.
- Health & Medicine
Honeybee CSI: Why dead bodies can’t be found
Virus could explain one symptom of colony collapse.
By Susan Milius - Math
The influence of influence in Prisoner’s Dilemma
Cooperation wins out over betrayal when successful prisoners recruit followers.
- Health & Medicine
Imagination Medicine
Brain imaging reveals the substance of placebos. Expectation alone triggers the same neural circuits and chemicals as real drugs.
- Psychology
Recovering memories that never left
New research suggests that some people who recover memories of childhood sexual abuse are prone to false recall, while others are likely to have forgotten earlier recollections of actual abuse.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Help NAS and Yourself
A science-backgrounder series for the public is coming, and you can help choose the topics.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Science Reporting Fallout
Newspaper cutbacks are being linked to diminished science reporting.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Spanish Inquisition couldn’t quash Moorish, Jewish genes
Finding suggests modern history, not just prehistory, can leave a strong mark on a region’s genetic signature.
- Health & Medicine
Men line up for circumcision in Africa
But demand for the operation, shown to guard against HIV and other infections, exceeds availability.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
CNN downsizes science team
The move and timing for greatly restructuring science-and-environment coverage at the nation's all-news cable giant are perplexing.
By Janet Raloff