Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Waking Up: Brain stimulator spurs dramatic improvement years after injury
A man who spent 6 years in a minimally conscious state regained the ability to talk, eat, and move after doctors implanted electrodes deep in his brain.
- Humans
More math helps young scientists
Taking more math in high school improves students' college grades in physics, chemistry, and biology.
- Health & Medicine
A Melon for Dieters and Diabetics
Novel watermelons offer lots of taste but little sugar.
- Health & Medicine
TB medication offers pain relief
An antibiotic once used to treat tuberculosis may offer relief from chronic pain.
- Health & Medicine
Statin reduces dementia risk
A popular anticholesterol drug reduces older adults' chances of developing dementia.
- Anthropology
Red-Ape Stroll
Wild orangutans regularly walk upright through the trees, raising the controversial possibility that the two-legged stance is not unique to hominids.
- Humans
Letters from the August 4, 2007, issue of Science News
Here comes the sun When “Reaching for Rays: Scientists work toward a solar-based energy system” (SN: 5/26/07, p. 328) says that “scientists don’t expect traditional silicon-based solar cells to become competitive with fossil fuels,” one has to ask, “Ever?” Can anyone accurately predict the future price of polysilicon or of fossil fuels? Peter A. KaczowkaLenox, […]
- Health & Medicine
A Gut Feeling about Coffee
People's gut microbes digest fiber from coffee in a fermentation process, making beneficial compounds.
- Humans
From the July 24, 1937, issue
Records of floods are written in mud, predictions that locusts will invade areas once thought safe, and the Eiffel Tower hosts the world's most powerful television transmitter.
- Health & Medicine
Grim Reap Purr: Nursing home feline senses the end
A nursing home cat in Rhode Island knows when the end is nigh, predicting with uncanny accuracy when residents will die.
- Health & Medicine
Good Light: Sun early in life could protect against MS
Childhood exposure to direct sunshine may protect people against developing multiple sclerosis later.
- Humans
Universities seek armchair astronomers
Scientists are recruiting online help from the public to classify the shapes of 1 million galaxies in never-before-viewed photographs.
