Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Babbitt to Southern Louisiana: Look into Gondolas
“New Orleans, at the end of the century, will be an island” — literally, predicts Bruce Babbitt. Whether or not you believe his assessment, he makes a good case for considering the implications of climate change when planning federal projects.
- Humans
Teeth chronicle infant diet
Chemical analyses of teeth, including fossilized ones, may provide clues that tell anthropologists the age at which a child was weaned.
- Climate
Air Pollution Can Be So Cool — ing
Fossil-fuel pollution has been offsetting global warming to the tune of about 30 percent per year. Cleaning up that pollution, a must, threatens to accelerate warming unless humanity changes its fuel-use strategy.
- Life
DNA tweak no good for diabetics
A genetic variation that increases levels of a blood-building protein also ups the risk of developing complications from diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Potential for protection
A study of U.S. veterans suggests that the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen could have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease. But researchers say more work is needed.
- Health & Medicine
Rice Woes, Pt. 1
A shortfall in rice production has been developing well under the radar screen of agricultural economists and growers. The bad news: It promises to get much worse, and fairly soon.
- Climate
Olympic Clean Up
Rather than wowing its visitors this summer with world-class air pollution, China wants to impress them with its clean, green Olympics.
- Earth
It’s the meat not the miles
Eating less red meat and dairy may do more to reduce food-associated greenhouse gas emissions than shopping locally.
- Health & Medicine
Treat ’em
High blood pressure often goes untreated in people 80 and over, but a new study suggests that treatment extends survival.
- Health & Medicine
Mondo bizarro
Psychiatrists measuring the degree of similarity between dreams and psychotic ruminations report some strange features common to both.
- Humans
Jaw breaker
An ancient human relative that lived more than 1 million years ago possessed huge jaws and teeth suited to eating hard foods but actually preferred fruits and other soft items, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Friend or foe? Drunk, the brain can’t tell
Intoxicated brains can’t discern between threatening and safe situations.
