Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
Lake-Bottom Bounty: Some Arctic sediments didn’t erode during recent ice ages
Sediments in a few lakes in northeastern Canada were not scoured away during recent ice ages, a surprising find that could prove a boon to climate researchers.
- Humans
Letters from the October 6, 2007, issue of Science News
Cat scam? Oscar the cat possibly does identify dying patients (“Grim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end,” SN: 7/28/07, p. 53), but the story you printed presents anecdotal rather than scientific evidence and does not belong in a science magazine. Julie EnevoldsenSeattle, Wash. Correlation is not causation. Could it not be that, somehow, […]
- Health & Medicine
Lonely white cells
In chronically lonely people, white blood cells show abnormal gene activity that may affect health through immune responses.
- Humans
From the September 25, 1937, issue
Insulin's molecular structure revealed, a new supernova observed less than a fortnight after an earlier one, and a hypothesis for how X rays kill cancer cells.
- Anthropology
Sail Away: Tools reveal extent of ancient Polynesian trips
Rock from Hawaii was fashioned into a stone tool found in Polynesian islands more than 4,000 kilometers to the south, indicating that canoeists made the sea journey around 1,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Lack of Evidence: Vaccine additive not linked to developmental problems
Thimerosal, a mercury-containing vaccine preservative, shows no signs of causing memory, attention or other problems in children.
- Health & Medicine
Keep Out: Treated mosquito nets limit child deaths
Mosquito nets treated with insecticides decrease death rates among children in Kenya's malarial zones.
- Health & Medicine
Distracted? Tea might help your focus
An amino acid in tea combines with the brew's caffeine to enliven brain cells that aid concentration.
- Health & Medicine
Tea compound aids dying brain cells
A constituent of green tea rescues brain cells damaged in a way that mimics the effect of Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Malaria’s sweet spot
The malaria parasite's reliance on a sugar in the gut of mosquitoes may offer a way to block the disease's transmission.
- Health & Medicine
Exhaust fumes might threaten people’s hearts
Nanoparticles in diesel fumes thwart proteins that dissolve blood clots, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks.
- Humans
Letters from the September 29, 2007, issue of Science News
Questioning the surge “The Power of Induction” (SN: 7/21/07, p. 40) was written as if this was a newly discovered technology. I have been using an electric shaver with induction recharging for years. Mike YorkPhoenix, Ariz. The ability to project electrical power some distance suggests a possible method to detonate or disable improvised explosive devices. […]
