Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Ear Protection: Combo vaccine prevents some infections
A vaccine that triggers immunity against two common bacteria can prevent many ear infections in babies.
- Anthropology
Polynesian Latecomers: Easter Islanders took fast track to culture
New radiocarbon dates from Easter Island indicate that the isolated Polynesian island was first colonized around A.D. 1200, up to 800 years later than had previously been thought.
- Health & Medicine
Got Data? Consuming calcium, dairy doesn’t keep off weight
Dairy products and other calcium-containing foods don't prevent weight gain, according to a 12-year study of middle-aged men.
- Humans
Letters from the March 11, 2006, issue of Science News
Seasonal effect? Might your article, “Bright Lights, Big Cancer” (SN: 1/7/06, p. 8), on breast cancer have missed something? If the daily light-dark cycle affects melatonin, is there a seasonal change in cancer rates in the Northern (and Southern) Hemispheres? If so or not, that might give a clue to any latency period. Alan MacGregorSalmon […]
- Health & Medicine
Genes for macular degeneration
Variations in two genes could account for three-quarters of all cases of age-related macular degeneration.
- Health & Medicine
Low-protein diet boosts treatment
A diet low in protein can improve the effectiveness of drug therapy and reduce the periods of the most debilitating symptoms suffered by Parkinson's disease patients.
- Health & Medicine
A link between emotional stress and heart attacks
In some people with heart disease, a stressful event precipitates changes in blood components and flow that may trigger a heart attack.
- Health & Medicine
Indigestion drug makes headway
An experimental drug relieves symptoms of a form of chronic indigestion called functional dyspepsia better than a placebo does.
- Humans
From the February 29, 1936, issue
Giant pandas on display, keeping organs alive, and light from the night sky.
- Health & Medicine
West Nile Virus
This Web site from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examines the spread of West Nile virus across the United States, complete with up-to-date maps showing which states are hardest hit. The site also explores workplace safety, the biology behind the virus’ spread, and some fascinating history of West Nile, including the virus’ first […]
- Health & Medicine
Gender Gap: Male-only gene affects men’s dopamine levels
A gene found only in men affects the brain's production of dopamine, a finding that may help explain why men are more likely than women to develop Parkinson's disease and other dopamine-related illnesses.
- Archaeology
Ancient Andean Maize Makers: Finds push back farming, trade in highland Peru
Fossilized plant remains recovered from a nearly 4,000-year-old house in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru show that highland inhabitants cultivated maize and imported other plant foods from lowland forests at around the time that large societies developed in the region.
