Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Clinical trials face uncertain futures amid Trump cuts
The Trump administration has reportedly disrupted over 100 clinical trials. Science News spoke to researchers about the impacts on four of them.
- Health & Medicine
A messed-up body clock could be a bigger problem than lack of sleep
For a good night of sleep, consider getting your circadian rhythm back in sync with the sun. Here’s how to do it.
- Health & Medicine
A drug for heavy metal poisoning may double as a snakebite treatment
An initial clinical trial in Kenya found no safety concerns, a first step toward testing unithiol as a treatment for venomous snakebites in people.
- Health & Medicine
Three U.S. tick species may cause a mysterious red meat allergy
Two cases of alpha-gal syndrome suggest that the lone star tick isn’t the only species in the United States capable of triggering an allergy to red meat.
- Animals
Snakes are often the villains. A new book gives them a fair shake
From demon to danger noodle, human ideas about snakes can be as contradictory as the creatures themselves. In Slither, Stephen S. Hall challenges our serpent stereotypes.
- Health & Medicine
An overlooked organ may help the ovary function
No longer considered functionless, the “rediscovered” rete ovarii may be crucial for understanding “unexplainable” infertility and ovarian disorders.
- Anthropology
Denisovans inhabited Taiwan, new fossil evidence suggests
An expanding geographic range for these close Neandertal relatives leaves Denisovans' evolutionary status uncertain.
- Health & Medicine
A shadowy market for weight-loss drugs has emerged online
People are buying semaglutide and tirzepatide, the key ingredients in Ozempic and Zepbound, from unconventional sources. Doctors have safety concerns.
- Neuroscience
Memory manipulation is the stuff of sci-fi. Someday it could be real
Experiments point to how scientists can strengthen or weaken memories, which may eventually lead to treatments for Alzheimer’s disease or PTSD.
- Climate
A lush, green Arabian Desert may have once linked Africa and Asia
Mineral formations in caves reveal recurring periods of humidity in the Arabian Desert over the last 8 million years.
- Archaeology
Stone Age hunter-gatherers may have been surprisingly skilled seafarers
New archaeological finds in Malta add to an emerging theory that early Stone Age humans cruised the open seas.
- Anthropology
Rare books covered with seal skin hint at a medieval trade network
The furry seal skins may have made their way to French monasteries from as far away as Greenland.
