Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Support for Evolution
Alliance for Science seeks to unite prominent scientists and other influential opponents of creationism “to educate the public about the different but complementary roles of science and religion; to improve the teaching of science in our public schools; and to restore the excitement about science and discovery.” One new enterprise it’s sponsoring: an essay contest […]
- Health & Medicine
Calculated Risk: Shedding light on fracture hazards in elderly
Diminished bone density in elderly people contributes to fractures following traumatic accidents.
- Anthropology
Northwest Passage: Americas populated via Alaska, genetics show
A single population of prehistoric Siberians crossed the Bering Strait into Alaska and fanned out to North and South America, a new genetic analysis of living Native Americans suggests.
- Archaeology
Rolling Back the Years
Scientists are refining carbon dating techniques to make the archaeological timeline more precise.
- Health & Medicine
Dengue virus found in donated blood
Scientists have discovered that 12 units of blood donated in Puerto Rico in late 2005 contained the dengue virus.
- Health & Medicine
Sleeping sickness pill may work as well as injections
The first oral drug for sleeping sickness is showing effectiveness in a trial in central Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Bomb craters mean trouble for islanders
A skin infection in people living on the Pacific island of Satowan stems from swimming in ponds formed from World War II bomb craters there.
- Health & Medicine
Patch guards against Montezuma’s revenge
A patch worn on the skin delivers a vaccine against a form of Escherichia coli that causes traveler's diarrhea.
- Health & Medicine
Additives may make youngsters hyper
Common food colorings and the preservative sodium benzoate have the potential to foster hyperactivity and inattentiveness in children, a new study finds.
- Anthropology
Ancient-ape remains discovered in Kenya
Newly unearthed fossils of a 9.8-million-year-old ape in eastern Africa come from a creature that may have evolved into a common ancestor of African apes and humans.
- Humans
Letters from the December 1, 2007, issue of Science News
Bed nets and insecticides Kenyan researchers report that insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce malaria-related deaths in children (“Keep Out: Treated mosquito nets limit child deaths,” SN: 9/29/07, p. 195). While these nets appear to provide preventive measures against malaria, my only concern is the toxicity of the insecticides. The World Health Organization lists two of […]
- Humans
From the November 20, 1937, issue
An American Nobel laureate in physics, the need for research in the chemistry of petroleum, and a new way to send photographs by telegraph.
