Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Smelly garlic: A lung tonic?
Fresh garlic or its powdered equivalent might prevent a potentially lethal condition in which pulmonary blood pressure is selectively elevated.
- Health & Medicine
Blood hints at autism’s source
A new biochemical profile in blood may lead to earlier diagnosis of autism and a better understanding of its genetic causes.
- Health & Medicine
Viagra might rescue risky pregnancies
Viagra shows promise for limiting threats of fetal loss from preeclampsia, a type of high blood pressure that frequently occurs during pregnancy.
- Health & Medicine
The Race to Prescribe
Race-based medicine could be a stepping-stone to the higher goal of targeting medicines toward the genetics of individual patients, but some researchers are troubled by the implications of practicing medicine according to patients' racial identities.
- Humans
From the April 6, 1935, issue
Early cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., nebulae as remnants of exploded stars, and 6,000-year-old leftovers.
- Health & Medicine
Molecular Switch: Protein may influence chronic-pain disorder
A cell-surface protein found in the nervous system may play a central role in a chronic-pain condition known as neuropathy.
- Anthropology
Untangling Ancient Roots: Earliest hominid shows new, improved face
New fossil finds and a digitally reconstructed skull bolster the claim that the oldest known member of the human evolutionary family lived in central Africa between 6 million and 7 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Detecting cancer in a flash
Instant identification of cancer cells may become possible following experiments demonstrating that healthy and cancerous cells alter laser light in different, and distinguishable, ways.
- Humans
Letters from the April 9, 2005, issue of Science News
Big ideas Your article “Life on the Scales” (SN: 2/12/05, p. 106) reminded me that taking a bird’s song and transposing it down four octaves makes it sound like a whale’s song. The opposite is also true. To hear this, go to http://www.mind.net/music/birdwhaleDemo.mp3. Todd BartonAshland, Ore. The article would imply that the only anomaly to […]
- Health & Medicine
Improving Prospects for Functional Foods
A new analysis recommends streamlining rules that govern the production and sale of foods that improve health.
- Humans
From the March 30, 1935, issue
Dust storms over Washington, D.C., 300 successive generations of fruit flies, and the world's oldest cemetery.
- Humans
Science Cartoons
The science-themed cartoons of Sidney Harris have entertained readers of magazines ranging from American Scientist to The New Yorker for many years. You can find a selection of his delightful cartoons, organized by topic, in this Web gallery. Go to: http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/gallery.htm
