Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Chimps spread out their tools
Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts in an African region far from where that behavior was thought to be relegated.
- Anthropology
Mental Leap
As scientists discover traits shared by human and ape ancestors millions of years ago, they try to fill in the gaps of human evolution.
- Humans
Letters from the September 2, 2006, issue of Science News
B line “A Vexing Enigma: New insights confront chronic fatigue syndrome” (SN: 7/1/06, p. 10) implies that there’s not an available cure for chronic fatigue syndrome. I was amazed to find no mention of vitamin B12. I can attest to the remarkable effect. Earl L. PyeOak Hills, Calif. Limited evidence suggests that vitamin B12 absorption […]
- Humans
From the August 22, 1936, issue
Hummingbirds in flight, a cosmic-ray detector, and rare metals in meteorites.
- Humans
ThinkQuest Winners
In the ThinkQuest competition, teams of students from around the world create educational Web sites. Take a look at this year’s winners, which feature imaginative and engaging efforts on such topics as avian flu, mathematics history, information inequality in the digital age, minerals and mining, artificial intelligence, and more. Go to: http://www.thinkquest.org/aug05may06/index.shtml
- Health & Medicine
Risky Legacy: African DNA linked to prostate cancer
The high rate of prostate cancer among African American men may result in large part from a newly identified stretch of DNA passed down from their African ancestors.
- Health & Medicine
Breast milk may not be enough
Breast-fed infants need vitamin D supplements, at least in winter.
- Health & Medicine
Sauna use among dads linked to tumors in children
Men who expose themselves to excessive heat in the weeks before they conceive children may place their future offspring at unnecessary risk of brain cancer.
- Humans
Mutant Maps
Struck by an analogy between genetic mutations and flaws in antique printed documents, a biologist has devised a method to analyze such flaws to pinpoint publication dates of rare, undated documents.
- Humans
Letters from the August 26, 2006, issue of Science News
Dust to dust In “Not a planet?” (SN: 6/17/06, p. 382), Alycia Weinberger says, “The discovery of a disk around the planetary-mass companion to 2M1207 should be a bit of a relief to planet-formation theorists” because it casts doubt on the object being a planet. But wouldn’t our early solar system have been composed of […]
- Health & Medicine
How to Wash Up in the Wilderness
Many campers who wash their dishes in the wilderness use methods that don't consistently remove all bacteria.
- Humans
From the August 15, 1936, issue
Art fit for a king, healing wounds, and cops and robbers in the blood.
