Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Oldest traces of smallpox virus found in child mummy
The oldest genetic evidence of smallpox comes from variola virus DNA found in a child mummy buried in a church crypt in Lithuania.
- Life
Having an extra chromosome has a surprising effect on cancer
Extra chromosome copies may protect against, not cause, cancer.
- Ecosystems
Losing tropical forest might raise risks of human skin ulcers, deformed bones
Bacteria that cause Buruli ulcer in people flourish with tropical deforestation.
- Neuroscience
Brain waves show promise against Alzheimer’s protein in mice
Flickers of light induce brain waves that wash amyloid-beta out of the brain, mouse study suggests.
- Science & Society
Virtual reality raises real risk of motion sickness
New research confirms anecdotal reports that virtual reality headsets can cause motion sickness, and may affect women more than men.
- Health & Medicine
Database provides a rare peek at a human embryo’s first weeks
A new 3-D atlas charts the growth of each and every organ in the developing human embryo, from the heart to the gut to the brain.
- Astronomy
Scientific success depends on finding light in darkness
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses using cleverness and persistence to uncover scientific truths.
- Life
Mitochondria variants battle for cell supremacy
Some mitochondria are more competitive than others, which could complicate treatments for mitochondrial diseases.
- Health & Medicine
Low social status leads to off-kilter immune system
Low social status tips immune system toward inflammation seen in chronic diseases, a monkey study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Old blood carries risks for brain
Young blood may not save the brain, by one measure at least.
- Health & Medicine
A Pap smear can scoop up fetal cells for genome testing
Pap smear during pregnancy could offer an early way to test for fetal genetic disorders.
- Health & Medicine
This week in Zika: Vaginal vulnerability, disease double trouble and more
Puerto Rico cases of Zika suggest that the virus prefers women. And two new findings reveal more about Zika’s transmission and ability to survive outside the body.
