Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Humans in eastern Asia show ancient roots
Human ancestors lived in northeastern Asia about 1.36 million years ago, making it the oldest confirmed occupation site in eastern Asia.
- Health & Medicine
Acacia-tree extract fights cancer in mice
Compounds called avicins extracted from Acacia victoriae, an Australian desert tree, inhibit inflammation and cancer in test-tube and mouse studies.
- Health & Medicine
Germs can survive weeks on fabrics, plastic
Soft, dry surfaces in hospitals can harbor live germs for more than a month.
- Health & Medicine
Blood vessels (sans blood) shape organs
Even before they begin to carry blood, blood vessels provide signals that help spark the development of organs such as the liver.
- Anthropology
Isotopes reveal sources of ancient timbers
Isotopic analysis of architectural timbers from ancient dwellings in the U.S. Southwest has shown from which distant forests the massive logs came.
- Health & Medicine
Alcohol on your breath need not be all bad
Drugs such as insulin may be delivered by inhaling mists of medicine-containing alcohol.
- Health & Medicine
Drugs slow diabetes patients’ kidney damage
Two drugs normally prescribed for high blood pressure help forestall kidney damage in people with type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Even a little coffee may up heart risk
Drinking just 1 to 3 cups of coffee daily may adversely affect blood concentrations of cholesterol and homocysteine.
- Health & Medicine
Constipation might signal Parkinson’s
Men who are constipated are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than men who are not.
- Health & Medicine
Obesity linked to pancreatic cancer
People who are obese or who have led sedentary lives with little exercise are more likely than others to develop pancreatic cancer.
- Archaeology
Ancestors who came in from the cold
Researchers found the remains of a 36,000-year-old human occupation in the Russian Arctic, which represents the earliest evidence of a human presence that far north.
- Archaeology
Neandertals used tools with versatility
Microscopic data from artifacts found at two Ukrainian sites indicate that Neandertals used stone tools in flexible ways that allowed them to maintain a broad diet for nearly 50,000 years.
