Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Beyond Hearing: Cochlear implants work best when given early
Children born deaf who receive cochlear implants as toddlers show brain activity that's more normal than that of children getting the implants later in childhood.
- Health & Medicine
3-D Vision: New technique could improve breast cancer screening, diagnosis
An experimental alternative to standard mammography could, by the end of this decade, become an essential tool for spotting breast cancer.
- Humans
Gerald F. Tape (1915–2005)
Gerald Tape, who served on the Science Service Board of Trustees for more than 30 years, died Nov. 20.
- Humans
Letters from the December 10, 2005, issue of Science News
Big Bang bashing The recent discovery of “mature” galaxies at distances corresponding to the remote cosmic past (“Crisis in the Cosmos? Galaxy formation theory is in peril,” SN: 10/8/05, p. 235) threatens more than galaxy-formation theory. It threatens to shatter the increasingly fragile Big Bang paradigm by showing that the composition of the cosmos is […]
- Health & Medicine
New malaria vaccine is off to promising start
An experimental malaria vaccine has been shown to induce a strong immune response in people.
- Anthropology
The Pirahã Challenge
A linguist has sparked controversy with his proposal that a tribe of about 200 people living in Brazil's Amazon rain forest speaks a language devoid of counting and color terms, clauses, and other elements of grammar often considered to be universal.
- Health & Medicine
Fruits and Veggies Limit Inflammatory Protein (with recipe)
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables reduce signs of chronic inflammation, which has been linked to heart disease and other serious health problems.
- Humans
Letters from the December 3, 2005, issue of Science News
Eye on energy “Cosmic Ray Font: Supernova remnants rev up ions” (SN: 10/1/05, p. 213) is unfortunately murky. It’s confusing to state that accelerating charged particles to high speeds “therefore” produces cosmic rays. And what “charged particles”? Is the “energized” gas in fact “ionized”? “Energized” is too general a word. Finally, why are high-speed particles […]
- Humans
From the November 30, 1935, issue
A giant salt container, slimming down overweight children, and taking isotopes for a spin.
- Health & Medicine
Rare but Fatal Outcome: Four deaths may trace to abortion pill
In the past 5 years, four healthy women taking the abortion pill mifepristone have died of toxic shock syndrome.
- Anthropology
Waves of Grain: New data lift old model of agriculture’s origins
A new analysis of the locations and ages of ancient farming sites reinforces the controversial idea that the groups that started raising crops in the Middle East gradually grew in number and colonized much of Europe.
- Health & Medicine
Pomegranate juice could fight Alzheimer’s
Drinking pomegranate juice, already linked to a host of positive health effects, may also slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
