Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Space
These discoveries from 2021, if true, could shake up science
Discoveries in 2021, from hidden subatomic particles to the oldest animal fossils, could shake up science. But more evidence is needed to confirm them.
- Health & Medicine
The omicron variant is surging. Here’s what we’ve learned so far
Omicron is better at evading virus-attacking antibodies than previous coronavirus variants, but there are signs booster shots might help curb symptoms.
- Climate
Vikings may have fled Greenland to escape rising seas
Vikings abandoned Greenland in the 15th century. Lower temperatures, an expanding ice sheet and rising sea levels may have played a role in their departure.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 testing is complicated right now. Here are answers to 6 big questions
There are two major categories of COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Here’s what you need to know when deciding whether to take an at-home test or head to the doctor.
- Health & Medicine
These are the viruses that mRNA vaccines may take on next
Now that mRNA vaccines have proved effective against the coronavirus, scientists are taking aim at influenza, HIV and other viruses.
- Health & Medicine
The CDC recommends mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over J&J’s, citing fewer risks
Pfizer’s and Moderna's vaccines are more effective and cause fewer serious side effects than Johnson & Johnson’s jab, new data show.
- Health & Medicine
Why it matters that health agencies finally said the coronavirus is airborne
Recognizing that the coronavirus spreads through the air reinforced the importance of wearing masks and altered public health recommendations.
- Health & Medicine
Why the coronavirus’s delta variant dominated 2021
Mapping delta’s unique group of mutations and how they enhance the virus’s life cycle show why the variant spread so easily and caused so much havoc.
- Archaeology
Neandertals were the first hominids to turn forest into grassland 125,000 years ago
Neandertals’ campfires, hunting and other activities altered the land over 2,000 years, making them the first known hominids to impact their environs.
- Health & Medicine
In 2021, COVID-19 vaccines were put to the test. Here’s what we learned
Vaccines can’t single-handedly end the pandemic, but they are still essential in the fight against the coronavirus.
- Health & Medicine
How sleep may boost creativity
In a lab experiment, people who had fallen into a shallow sleep were more likely than non- or deep sleepers to later discover a sly math trick.
- Microbes
A bacteria-virus arms race could lead to a new way to treat shigellosis
As bacteria that cause shigellosis evolve to escape a virus, the microbes may become less deadly, a hopeful sign for “phage therapy.”
