Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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Health & MedicineVampire spit gives strokes a licking
A drug derived from a component of vampire bat saliva can clear blood clots in the brains of people who have had strokes.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansHigh costs of CT screening
Whole-body computed tomography scans for asymptomatic disease do not appear cost-effective at this time.
By Janet Raloff -
HumansLetters from the February 12, 2005, issue of Science News
Short end of the chromosome Since “women with chronically ill children generally reported more stress” and since “there was a very striking connection between stress and telomere length” (“Stressed to Death: Mental tension ages cells,” SN: 12/4/04, p. 355), isn’t it probable that there is a strong connection between telomere length and becoming the parent […]
By Science News -
HumansFrom the February 9, 1935, issue
A new type of sailboat, the most distant nebula, and germs on drinking glasses.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineTrimming with Tea
Components of green tea appear to help diners lose weight, a several-month-long Japanese trial finds.
By Janet Raloff -
HumansWhys Up
The University of Wisconsin created the “The Why Files” to explain the science behind news headlines. The stories are timely and written for a broad audience of children and adults. Recent topics include snowmobile use in national parks, tsunamis, climate change, and ice in Antarctica. The articles are classified according to educational standards for grades […]
By Science News -
HumansLean Times: Proposed budget keeps science spending slim
After accounting for inflation, President Bush's proposed research-and-development budget for fiscal year 2006 is down 1.4 percent from FY 2005, a figure that has many science agencies tightening their belts.
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Health & MedicineHeartfelt Fear: Findings link stress and cardiac symptoms
Emotional stress can lead to symptoms that mimic a heart attack, even in people without coronary artery blockages, possibly by causing an unusual secretion of hormones.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansNIH tightens its ethics rules
The National Institutes of Health issued new ethics rules to keep its employees from engaging in potentially questionable relationships with organizations that might have a financial interest in NIH activities or policies.
By Janet Raloff -
HumansFrom the February 2, 1935, issue
Crystal stalagmites from winter rain, evidence for early inhabitants in Texas, and a new transmission system for electric power.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineThere’s the Rub: Football abrasions can lead to nasty infections
U.S. football players who get scrapes and cuts from playing on artificial turf sometimes develop bacterial infections that are resistant to some antibiotics.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineWhen Ebola Looms: Human outbreaks follow animal infections
A network of organizations in an African region prone to Ebola epidemics has identified the virus in wild-animal remains prior to two recent human outbreaks, suggesting that animal carcasses may provide timely clues that could prevent the disease from spreading to people.
By Ben Harder