Humans

Sign up for our newsletter

We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Humans

    How Would Carnegie Judge Our Digital Libraries?

    As the nature of "modern" libraries change, one digital designer questions whether libraries are losing much more than just hard copies of their books.

    By
  2. Humans

    Digital Data Cry Out — Save Me!

    Despite being make-or-break issues, how to collect, store, and catalog digital data are on the radar screens of few scientists and engineers.

    By
  3. Life

    Wine find

    Cell tests suggest that resveratrol, the substance that seems to account for the healthful effects of red wine, might have antiobesity effects, too.

    By
  4. Health & Medicine

    Good news for coffeeholics

    When lifestyle factors like smoking were taken into account, coffee drinkers had lower death rates than their non-drinking peers, according to a study of more than 120,000 people.

    By
  5. Health & Medicine

    Keep at it

    Moderate exercise can extend survival for overweight and obese men who have diabetes.

    By
  6. Humans

    Doritos in Space

    Today, a huge European radar-transmitter system sent an ad for a cheesy snack radiating out into space.

    By
  7. Archaeology

    Resurrection of a biblical tree

    Date palm pit found at Masada sprouts at age 2,000, becoming the oldest known seed to germinate.

    By
  8. Health & Medicine

    No babies, no hormones

    A radically different form of contraception would prevent pregnancies with small molecules of RNA.

    By
  9. Humans

    Wash Your Veggies!

    The lesson in all of these food-poisoning outbreaks is that we must not expect a risk-free food-supply chain.

    By
  10. Humans

    Teacher Certification Increases, But . . .

    Rigorous standards exist for what teachers should know and be able to do. The rub: only about three U.S. teachers out of every five schools have demonstrated they meet those standards.

    By
  11. Health & Medicine

    Virus versus virus

    Customized RNA snippets delivered by a harmless virus could someday provide a new way to combat the hepatitis B virus.

    By
  12. Health & Medicine

    Seeing disease’s acidic side

    Small tumors can be detected using a new technique that safely, reliably and noninvasively measures tissue chemistry.

    By