Humans
Sign up for our newsletter
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Galaxy Zoo’s blue mystery (part I)
A Dutch science teacher found a novel celestial object that had eluded the notice of astronomers.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Stomaching diabetes
A new way to treat diabetes could recruit cells in the gut to make insulin when the pancreas can’t.
- Health & Medicine
Take a chill pill, T cell
Targeting a receptor on immune cells may hold promise for treating multiple sclerosis and asthma.
By Tia Ghose - Computing
Video Search à la Web
Finding videos on the web can still be a hit-or-miss proposition.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Coloring the body
Color MRI scans may one day be possible, thanks to microscopic, tunable magnets.
By Tia Ghose - Anthropology
Numbers beyond words
New research with Amazonian villagers suggests that their language lacks number words but that they still comprehend precise quantities of objects.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Wishful thinking
Male athletes who think they are getting growth hormone claim to feel better and score higher in a jumping test while on a placebo.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Where funny faces come from
Making a face might have helped human ancestors survive.
By Amy Maxmen - Health & Medicine
Girl athletes’ energy crisis
Lack of regular periods in teenage female athletes stems from a hormone imbalance arising from inadequate energy intake.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Family Snaps in Peril
Digital photography appears to be far more ephemeral than camera sales people have led us to believe.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Cooking cancer cells
A new technique combining antibodies, carbon nanotubes and near-infrared light holds promise for treating malignancies, scientists report.
- Archaeology
Green reapers
Agriculture's rise sparked widespread use of green stone beads as fertility charms and as protection against supernatural forces, scientists propose.
By Bruce Bower