Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Microbes
Are viruses alive, not alive or something in between? And why does it matter?
The way we talk about viruses can shift scientific research and our understanding of evolution.
- Health & Medicine
What parents need to know about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11
Federal health officials authorized the Pfizer vaccine for this age group on October 29.
- Psychology
Scientists should report results with intellectual humility. Here’s how
Foregrounding a study’s uncertainties and limitations could help restore faith in the social sciences.
- Health & Medicine
The antidepressant fluvoxamine can keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital
A 10-day course of fluvoxamine sharply reduced hospital visits and deaths, raising hopes for an easy at-home treatment for COVID-19.
- Humans
Ancient human visitors complicate the Falkland Islands wolf’s origin story
Scientists have debated how the Falkland Islands’ only land mammal journeyed to the region: by a long-ago land bridge or with people.
- Health & Medicine
Epidemics have happened before and they’ll happen again. What will we remember?
A century’s worth of science has helped us fend off infectious pathogens. But we have a lot to learn from the people who lived and died during epidemics.
- Genetics
DNA from mysterious Asian mummies reveals their surprising ancestry
Ancient DNA indicates that an enigmatic Bronze Age group consisted of genetic, but not cultural, loners.
- Archaeology
Lidar reveals a possible blueprint for many Olmec and Maya ceremonial sites
An Olmec site forged a building plan more than 3,000 years ago for widespread Olmec and Maya ritual centers across Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
- Health & Medicine
What does the first successful test of a pig-to-human kidney transplant mean?
For the first time, a pig organ was successfully attached to a human patient. It’s a step toward vastly increasing the supply of organs.
- Anthropology
Lasers reveal construction inspired by ancient Mexican pyramids in Maya ruins
Archaeologists have uncovered structures in Guatemala that are remarkably similar to La Ciudadela and its temple at the ancient city of Teotihuacan.
- Archaeology
Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021
Wooden objects provide the most precise dating yet of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s what we know about booster shots for Moderna’s and J&J’s COVID-19 vaccines
Immunity against the coronavirus is waning, but additional doses of the same or different COVID-19 vaccines could help protect vulnerable people.
