Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
King Tut’s tomb still has secrets to reveal 100 years after its discovery
More of Tut’s story is poised to come to light in the coming years. Here are four things to know on the 100th anniversary of his tomb’s discovery.
By Bruce Bower - Psychology
A new treatment for debilitating nightmares offers sweeter dreams
A new study combines standard nightmare disorder therapy with a memory-enhancing technique to create happier dreams and bring greater, lasting relief.
- Health & Medicine
Need a fall read? ‘The Song of the Cell’ offers tales from biology and history
Siddhartha Mukherjee’s new book, The Song of the Cell, explores the world of cell biology through the lens of scientists, doctors and patients.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
What is long COVID and who’s at risk? This NIH project may find out
Scientists with the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER project are working to define long COVID and figure out who’s at risk of developing it.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
A study questioning colonoscopy screening’s benefits has big caveats
The study included a lot of people who were invited to get the procedure but didn’t. That’s one limitation of several.
- Genetics
Ancient DNA unveils Siberian Neandertals’ small-scale social lives
Females often moved into their mate’s communities, which totaled about 20 individuals, researchers say.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Black Death immunity came at a cost to modern-day health
A genetic variant that boosts Crohn’s disease risk may have helped people survive the 14th century bubonic plague known as the Black Death.
By Wynne Parry - Psychology
The pandemic shows us how crises derail young adults’ lives for decades
Age matters for when we experience calamities, such as pandemics. Young adults are especially vulnerable to getting thrown off their life course.
By Sujata Gupta - Health & Medicine
A swarm of sneaky omicron variants could cause a COVID-19 surge this fall
Scientists are tracking similar mutations showing up in many variants that help the coronavirus evade some of our immune defenses and treatments.
- Archaeology
Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands
Urban growth around 4,600 years ago, near what is now southern Iraq, occurred on marshy outposts that lacked a city center.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Cooperative sperm outrun loners in the mating race
Sperm that swim in clusters travel more directly toward the uterus, while overcoming fluid currents in the reproductive tract.
- Humans
Here’s where jazz gets its swing
Swing, the feeling of a rhythm in jazz music that compels feet to tap, may arise from near-imperceptible delays in musicians’ timing, a study shows.
By Nikk Ogasa