Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Exonerated? Foods’ acrylamide risks appear low
A new study downplays the likelihood that people will develop cancer from eating foods naturally tainted with acrylamide, a building block of many plastics and an animal carcinogen.
- Health & Medicine
Dietary Dilemmas
Low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, could be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets are.
- Health & Medicine
Stress-prone? Altering the diet may help
Tailoring a diet to fuel the brain with the precursor of a mood-enhancing chemical may help vulnerable individuals cope with stress.
- Anthropology
Gene test probes Neandertal origins
A new DNA study supports the theory that Neandertals didn't contribute to the evolution of modern humans.
- Health & Medicine
DNA vaccine for measles shows promise
A measles vaccine consisting of just a couple of DNA strands proves effective in monkeys, possibly presenting an alternative or complementary vaccine for the standard immunization now used worldwide.
- Health & Medicine
Diet Tip—Close Your Eyes
How many times has your resolve to eat prudently been sabotaged by the sight of a buffet table, Mom’s Thanksgiving specialties, or pastries on the dessert cart? Just because a plate is full of food doesn’t mean one has to finish it all. For many of us, new data show, listening to the way our […]
- Humans
From the February 4, 1933, issue
SUPERLATIVE SPLENDOR REVEALED BY EXCAVATIONS IN PERSIA Eastern magnificence that surrounded Persian emperors 2,500 years ago is revealed by excavations at Persepolis. Palaces of the kings are being brought to light there by Dr. Ernest Herzfeld excavating for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. The sculptured walls arouse comparisons with glories of one […]
- Humans
Talent Found: Top science students chosen in 62nd annual competition
Forty wunderkinder, named as finalists in the annual Intel Science Talent Search, will collect $530,000 in scholarships for original research in science, mathematics, and engineering.
- Health & Medicine
Rackets and Radicals: Noise may cause gene damage in heart
Exposure to loud, continuous sound can scatter free radicals within heart tissue and cause injury to cells' DNA even after the din subsides, new animal research suggests.
- Anthropology
Dairying Pioneers: Milk ran deep in prehistoric England
Chemical analyses of prehistoric pot fragments indicate that English farmers milked livestock beginning around 6,000 years ago, providing the earliest confirmed evidence of dairying anywhere in the world.
- Health & Medicine
Dietary Inflation
“Finish what’s on your plate!” Thus has a multitude of well-intentioned moms exhorted millions of children, in an attempt to ensure good nutrition. Unfortunately, dieticians now find, too many grownups still feel compelled to empty their plates–even when those plates contain substantially more calories than our bodies need. Add to that the fact that modern […]
- Humans
From the July 5, 1930, issue
POWER PLANT SENTINELS When hundreds of thousands of horsepower traveling with the speed of lightning are instantly halted, you may be sure there will be a grand disturbance. And there is, but all the fuss is confined in steel tanks 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide, filled with oil. Two such tanks are shown […]
