Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Native American Geometry
The circle serves as starting point for this exploration of Native American geometry. Developed by Chris Hardaker for schoolchildren in Arizona, the Web site vividly illustrates the geometric principles that underlie Native American designs. Go to: http://www.earthmeasure.com/
- Health & Medicine
A Brew for Teeth—and the Rest of You
Globally, in terms of its popularity as a drink, tea ranks second only to water. While most people began sipping this brew for its taste and its ability to sooth the palate, researchers have recently turned up a variety of reasons to reinforce tea-quaffing habits. The newest: It slows the growth of germs that lead […]
- Health & Medicine
Reptilian drug may help treat diabetes
The synthetic version of exendin-4, a compound in gila monster venom, helps insulin injections control blood sugar in people with type I, or juvenile-onset, diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Thinking blurs when blood sugar strays
Blood sugar concentrations that are too high or too low can impair thinking and, in the case of low blood sugar, driving ability.
- Health & Medicine
Radiation harms blood vessels before gut
The side-effects of radiation therapy may result from initial damage to blood vessels.
- Health & Medicine
Sticky platelets boost blood clots
Tests for genetic variations of a key protein on platelets, the cell-like blood components that form clots, and their propensity to clump could help physicians determine optimal medication for heart disease patients.
- Anthropology
Earliest Ancestor Emerges in Africa
Scientists have found 5.2- to 5.8-million-year-old fossils in Ethiopia that represent the earliest known members of the human evolutionary family.
- Health & Medicine
Marijuana may boost heart attack risk
Marijuana seems to heighten the risk of heart attack in some people during the hour after which it is smoked.
- Health & Medicine
Arthritis drug succeeds vs. psoriasis
People with the skin disorder psoriasis respond well to infliximab, a drug normally given to arthritis patients.
- Health & Medicine
Insulin shots fail to prevent diabetes
Insulin injections failed to prevent type I, or juvenile-onset, diabetes from developing in children and young adults predisposed to the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Does lack of sleep lead to diabetes?
Lack of sleep makes healthy adults somewhat resistant to the effects of the hormone insulin, suggesting it could predispose people toward type II, or adult-onset, diabetes.
- Archaeology
Stone Age folk in Asia adapted to extremes
Preliminary evidence indicates that people occupied the harsh, high-altitude environment of Asia's Tibetan Plateau in the late Stone Age, between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago.
