Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer fighter reveals a dark side
Overactivity of a tumor-suppressing gene shortens the lifespan of mice.
- Humans
From the January 16, 1932, issue
A PHARAOH’S RIGHTHAND MAN Add the name of Ken-Amun, ambitious Egyptian politician, a Pharaoh’s righthand man, to the list of unusual personalities from ancient Egypt. Ken-Amun’s tomb, cut into a rocky hillside in the Valley of the Kings, has been known for almost a century, but has been strangely neglected. Now, it has been thoroughly […]
- Anthropology
Stone Age signs of complexity
Ancient engravings found in South Africa support the theory that humans began to think and behave in symbolic ways a surprisingly long time ago.
- Anthropology
The gene that came to stay
A gene thought by some scientists to foster a bold, novelty-seeking personality, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), apparently spread substantially in human populations over roughly the past 40,000 years.
- Health & Medicine
Viruses stop antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Bacteriophages, viruses that destroy bacteria, can protect mice from bacteria that are impervious to antibiotics.
- Health & Medicine
Genes make potential target in lymph cancer
Scientists looking for DNA variations in a cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma have found that excess activity in certain genes may indicate whether the disease will be fatal.
- Humans
Record science budget evaded proposed cuts
Congress and the Bush administration have now agreed on unprecedented rises in funding for research and development programs.
- Health & Medicine
Rwandan patients show unusual HIV
Blood tests on people in Rwanda who have had HIV infections for years without symptoms of AIDS indicate that the viruses in these patients have rare mutations.
- Health & Medicine
Will new approach cure Chagas disease?
Scientists may be able to disable the parasite that causes Chagas disease by targeting the enzyme it uses to make essential fats.
- Health & Medicine
Suppressive drug therapy hinders herpes
A daily regimen of the antiviral drug valacyclovir controls genital herpes vastly better than does the same medication when used only to treat outbreaks of the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Ominous drug-resistance hints appear
The first signs of partial resistance to an important class of drugs called quinolones have appeared in Haemophilus influenzae, a bacterium that can cause pneumonia and meningitis.
- Health & Medicine
Garlic interferes with HIV drug
Garlic supplements interact negatively with a protease inhibitor medication taken by people infected with HIV.
