Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Targeted Attack
Scientists are piecing together the details of how mutations in a protein called EGFR can lead to cancer, and they are designing a new class of drugs to stop the protein's destructive behavior.
- Health & Medicine
The Kindest Cuts Are Underwater
Fruits and veggies stay fresher longer when they're peeled and sliced underwater, not on the countertop.
- Humans
Letters from the August 20, 2005, issue of Science News
Just a little gas “Energy on Ice” (SN: 6/25/05, p. 410) states that the gas-hydrate deposit near Prudhoe Bay “contains more than 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. That’s twice the total amount of natural gas consumed annually in the United States. …” Does it behoove us to invest the time and dollars it will […]
- Humans
From the August 17, 1935, issue
Cactus gardening for a dry summer, Echo-sounding to locate fish, and suspended animation in humans.
- Health & Medicine
X Ray Excels: Technique brings a new image to medicine
Recent advances in a technique called phase-contrast x-ray imaging could make it easier for physicians to spot tumors, clogged arteries, and other soft-tissue problems.
- Health & Medicine
Comb over Chemicals: Tool may rid heads of pesticideproof lice
Used systematically, special combs may be more effective than insecticidal shampoos at ridding a child's scalp of head lice.
- Anthropology
Reservoirs of Evolution: Rainy periods linked to human origins in Africa
Three phases of heavy rainfall in eastern Africa between 2.7 million and 900,000 years ago created deep lakes and might have played a critical role in the evolution of human ancestors.
- Health & Medicine
Outwitting TB: Enhanced vaccine protects mice in lab tests
An enhanced vaccine appears to offer better protection against tuberculosis than the current version does, a study in mice suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Tracking busy genes to get at cancer
By identifying which genes are overactive in certain breast tumors, researchers have discovered a genetic signature that could help doctors predict if and when a woman's cancer might spread to her lungs.
- Health & Medicine
Potent Medicine
Drugs now used to treat erectile dysfunction might soon assume multiple roles in managing heart disease and other conditions, including some that affect women and infants.
- Humans
From the August 10, 1935, issue
A silencer for artificial lightning, a trigger for epilepsy, and light that keeps plants from growing.
- Archaeology
The Iceman Cometh
A Web site maintained by Italy’s South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology offers an illustrated look at scientific efforts to understand the life and death of Oetzi the Iceman, who perished in Europe’s Alps more than 5,000 years ago only to be discovered in mummified form by hikers in 1991. Explore Oetzi’s clothing, equipment, and tattoos, […]
