Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Tipsy Times
Literally hundreds of studies over the past decade have reported evidence that regular, moderate drinking–downing one to three drinks a day–can offer people significant health benefits by cutting their risks of heart disease and probably diabetes. What such studies usually fail to emphasize is that benefits from a little alcohol show up almost exclusively in […]
- Health & Medicine
Cultured cells reverse some eye damage
Transplants using bioengineered corneal stem cells grown on an amniotic membrane can vastly improve vision in people who are nearly blind because of damaged corneas.
- Humans
From the February 18, 1933, issue
OUTWITTING VAMPIRES AND VIPERS When a vampire is a supernatural creature, science laughs at it. But when it is a disease-bearing bat, science sets its disease-fighters to work seeking a way to conquer it. Down in Panama, the disease-fighters of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, in addition to carrying on their regular job of fighting malaria, […]
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Quest
Developed at Emory University, the CancerQuest Web site offers insights into the biology of cancer. The site provides clear, concise information about how the disease works, accompanied by interactive graphics and a handy glossary. Topics range from cell structure and genetic change to tumor biology and cancer treatment. Go to: http://www.cancerquest.org/
- Health & Medicine
Carbon monoxide may limit vascular damage
Carbon monoxide given in small doses to rats can prevent injury to blood vessels caused by surgery.
- Archaeology
Farming sprouted in ancient Ecuador
Analyses of microscopic plant remains from two archaeological sites indicate that people began to grow squash in Ecuador's lowlands between 10,000 and 9,000 years ago, when agriculture was also taking root in Mexico.
- Humans
From the July 12, 1930, issue
FISH’S-EYE VIEW A poet once wished for the gift to see ourselves as others see us. An artist has achieved it. Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson, of New York, has cultivated the ability to see things from the fish’s point of view, taking into account the squeezed perspective one gets through the little “window” in the water […]
- Health & Medicine
Being a dad comes naturally
Men whose wives are about to give birth show hormonal fluctuations that may predispose them to better parenting behavior.
- Health & Medicine
Heart risks linked to infertility syndrome
Women with polycystic ovaries—commonly linked to infertility—are more likely than women without the disease to show early signs of heart disease.
- Health & Medicine
Huntington’s Advance: Drug limits disease effects in laboratory mice
A compound that inhibits enzymes that act as stop signs for genes counteracts the movement disorders brought on by Huntington's disease, a mouse study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Montezuma’s Welcome Revenge? Bacterial toxin may fend off colon cancer
A diarrhea-inducing toxin from some strains of the common gut bacterium E. coli stifles colon cancer cell growth and may lead to new treatments.
- Health & Medicine
Worms offer the skinny on fat genes
The identification of worm genes that regulate fat storage may provide insight into human obesity.
