Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Our family tree does the splits…
Large-scale changes in climate and habitats may have sparked the evolution of many new animal species in Africa beginning 7 million to 5 million years ago, including a string of new species in the human evolutionary family.
- Humans
Biomedicine, defense to sidestep budget ax
President Bush's first budget request would boost funding for biomedical and military research but trim federal outlays for other areas of science and technology.
- Health & Medicine
Infections tied to head and neck cancers
Infections from human papillomavirus (HPV) may increase the risk of certain cancers of the head and neck, especially of the tonsils.
- Archaeology
Ancient ash flow brought sudden death
Analysis of the excavation in Herculaneum of the victims of the A.D. 79 eruption of Italy's Mount Vesuvius indicates that when the initial ash flow swept through the city, it arrived so quickly that some residents didn't even have time to flinch.
- Health & Medicine
Boosting Boron Could Be Healthful
Largely ignored so far, dietary boron may play important roles in preventing diseases such as arthritis and prostate cancer.
- Health & Medicine
Fatty Findings
A recently discovered protein may explain at least part of the molecular mechanisms behind links among obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers.
- Health & Medicine
Vitamin E targets dangerous inflammation
People with diabetes face a high risk of heart attack and stroke. One apparent culprit is the chronic, low-grade inflammation that they develop. Megadoses of vitamin E can dramatically reduce that inflammation, a new study finds. Ishwarlal Jialal and Sridevi Devaraj of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas studied 47 men and […]
- Health & Medicine
Immune cells rush to gut in food allergy
In mice, allergic reactions to food coincide with an accumulation of white blood cells called eosinophils in the small intestine.
- Anthropology
Early Brazilians Unveil African Look
Prehistoric human skulls found in Brazil share some traits with modern Africans, leading a Brazilian scientist to theorize that Africans rather than Asians first arrived in the Americas sometime before 11,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Gene linked to aggressive prostate cancer
A gene that is more active in prostate cancer tumors from African-American men than in tumors from white men may help explain why prostate cancer is both more common and more aggressive in African Americans.
- Health & Medicine
Synthetic enzyme wards off side effects
A synthetic enzyme that lowers blood pressure and causes blood vessels to constrict shows promise for treating skin and kidney cancers that have spread throughout the body.
- Health & Medicine
Gene variant linked to early puberty
A highly active version of a gene for faster testosterone metabolism is also associated with early breast development—by the age of 9.5 years—in girls.
