Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Evolving in Their Graves
Understanding what early, rudimentary burials meant to modern humans' antecedents—assuming early humans did, in fact, bury their dead—could help anthropologsts untangle a lasting mystery of human evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Surprise! Fat proves a taste sensation
The share of consumed fat that travels into a person's bloodstream depends on whether the person tasted fat to begin with.
- Health & Medicine
Delayed surgery aids spinal cord repair
Postponing surgery to repair a severed spinal cord in rats improves the likelihood that the operation will counteract the injury.
- Anthropology
Human evolution put brakes on tooth growth
A new analysis of fossil teeth indicates that the slower pace of dental development observed in people today dates back only about 100,000 years.
- Health & Medicine
Low Radiation Hurts Bystander Cells
New research confirms that alpha particles from decaying radon atoms can damage neighboring cells they don't directly hit and suggests a mechanism for this so-called bystander effect.
- Health & Medicine
Thinking the way to stronger muscles
Thinking about exercising a muscle can make it stronger.
- Health & Medicine
New epilepsy drug is possible
A drug mimicking a natural substance in the brain may offer a new therapy for epilepsy.
- Health & Medicine
Antibiotic now tackles Parkinson’s
A well-known antibiotic may slow the brain-cell death that causes Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
A spice takes on Alzheimer’s disease
Curcumin, a spice used in yellow curry, may thwart Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Drugs tested for Lou Gehrig’s disease
Two drugs, one for cancer and one for arthritis, may be effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
- Health & Medicine
Protein fragment halts type I diabetes
A new protein-based drug injected into people just starting to show signs of diabetes halts the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Human-cloning claim creates controversy
A biotech company has begun cloning human embryos.
