Humans

Anthropology

Rumble in the Jungle

A new book raises troubling and controversial issues regarding research on a famous South American Indian population.

Health & Medicine

Dietary stress may compromise bones

Internal conflict about what and how much to eat not only induces production of a stress hormone but also may eventually weaken bones.

Health & Medicine

Raloxifene doesn’t hike breast density

Estrogen-replacement therapy that includes estrogen increases breast-tissue density among postmenopausal women, but the estrogen-replacement drug raloxifene doesn’t.

Anthropology

Human ancestors had taste for termites

Incisions on ancient bone implements found in South Africa indicate that human ancestors gathered termites, a protein-rich food source, more than 1 million years ago.

Health & Medicine

Cocaine link to heart attack bolstered

Regular cocaine use may account for one-fourth of nonfatal heart attacks in people under age 45.

Health & Medicine

Gene mutation can spur autoimmunity

A mutation of a gene on the X chromosome can lead to a dangerous autoimmune disorder and type I diabetes.

Health & Medicine

Mending a Broken Heart

Transplants of skeletal-muscle cells may help heal hearts damaged by illness or previous heart attacks.

Anthropology

Gene, fossil data back diverse human roots

Ancient mitochondrial DNA extracted from Homo sapiens fossils and anatomical links among H. sapiens crania from different regions both support a theory of geographically diverse human origins.

Health & Medicine

Protein pair induces nerve repair in mice

Mice genetically engineered to make two proteins normally active in early nerve development are able to regrow damaged nerve fibers somewhat in their central nervous systems.

Health & Medicine

Do Meat and Dairy Harm Aging Bones?

Two studies have contradictory findings about the impacts of animal protein on bones in elderly people.

Health & Medicine

Vision: The risks of being too fat or too tall

Excess weight or height can have a blinding impact, fostering the development of cataracts.

Health & Medicine

Lupus in Depth