Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Animals

    Having more friends may help female giraffes live longer

    A more gregarious life, even while just munching shrubbery, might mean added support and less stress for female giraffes.

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  2. Anthropology

    Ardi may have been more chimplike than initially thought — or not

    A contested study of hand and foot fossils suggests this 4.4-million-year-old hominid was a tree climber and branch swinger.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Redefining ‘flesh-colored’ bandages makes medicine more inclusive

    Peach-colored bandages label dark-skinned patients as outside the norm, says med student Linda Oyesiku. Brown bandages expand who gets to be normal.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus

    U.S. colleges opened in the fall with a patchwork of control measures to keep COVID-19 at bay.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    The U.K. approved the world’s first COVID-19 human challenge trial

    Dozens of young, healthy volunteers will be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus to find out how much virus it takes to get someone sick.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    The COVID-19 death toll sent U.S. life expectancy plunging in 2020

    Estimates show that American’s overall life expectancy declined by a year, but for Black Americans, the drop was almost three years.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Some Neandertal genes in people today may protect against severe COVID-19

    Neandertal DNA on chromosome 12 may affect genes involved in a biochemical chain reaction that ends with the destruction of viral RNA.

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  8. Animals

    A rare bird sighting doesn’t lead to seeing more kinds of rare birds

    The idea that more kinds of rare birds are seen when birders flock to where one has been seen, the so-called Patagonia Picnic Table Effect, is a myth.

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  9. Anthropology

    A body burned inside a hut 20,000 years ago signaled shifting views of death

    Ancient hunter-gatherers burned a hut in which they had placed a dead woman, suggesting a change in how death was viewed.

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  10. Psychology

    In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat

    Boredom contributes to pandemic fatigue and may account for why some people don’t follow social distancing rules.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Pfizer’s vaccine appears to reduce coronavirus transmission

    People who carry low amounts of the coronavirus in their bodies are less likely to spread COVID-19. Pfizer’s shot appears to help reduce viral loads.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Making masks fit better can reduce coronavirus exposure by 96 percent

    Double masking, rubber bands and other hacks can produce a tighter fit and prevent aerosol particles that can carry coronavirus from getting through.

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