Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Old antibiotic takes on Alzheimer’s
An antibiotic that binds copper and zinc may prevent brain deposits that cause Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Pesticide tied to Parkinson’s disease
Rodents exposed to massive amounts of the pesticide rotenone develop a condition similar to Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
New sources and uses for stem cells
Human skin and scalp tissue may provide a source of neural stem cells.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine protects monkeys from Ebola virus
A combination of a DNA vaccine and a vaccine based on a genetically modified common cold virus enables monkeys to resist Ebola virus, the first evidence that an Ebola vaccine works in primates.
- Humans
Letters from the October 16, 2004, issue of Science News
Hubble grumble The cover type “Farewell to Hubble?” (“End of the Line for Hubble?” SN: 7/24/04, p. 56: End of the Line for Hubble?) makes me wonder why we haven’t seen the headline “Farewell to the Current NASA Administrator?” The only reason I have heard for the cancellation of the planned servicing mission is “it’s […]
- Health & Medicine
Is Vitamin D Fattening?
People who don't consume enough calcium may find vitamin D sabotages their weight-control efforts by promoting fat gain.
- Humans
From the October 13, 1934, issue
A wingless rooster, production of artificial radioactive elements, and novae proposed as the origin of cosmic rays.
- Health & Medicine
Dormant Cancer: Lack of a protein sends tumor cells to bed
Excess amounts of a protein called Myc triggers cancer in mice, but ratcheting back this supply sends the malignant cells into dormancy.
- Health & Medicine
Fat Fuels PCB Damage: Diet influences toxic effects leading to heart disease
Certain types of dietary fats can magnify PCB damage to artery cells in a way that sets the stage for cardiovascular disease.
- Health & Medicine
Drug-resistant staph causes more pneumonia
A recently discovered variant of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to some antibiotics became a major cause of severe pneumonia among people who caught the flu last winter.
- Health & Medicine
Kids’ vaccine guards adults too, for now
Serious infections caused by pneumococcus have decreased in both children and adults since the introduction of a childhood vaccine against seven strains of the bacterium, but other pneumococcus strains are now becoming more prevalent among adults with HIV.
- Health & Medicine
Human antibody halts SARS in hamsters
Human-derived antibodies can not only prevent infections when given in advance of SARS exposure but also mitigate the symptoms of an infection already in progress.
