Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Some West Africans may have genes from an ancient ‘ghost’ hominid
A humanlike population undiscovered in fossils may have passed helpful DNA on to human ancestors in West Africa starting as early as 124,000 years ago.
- Archaeology
Food residues offer a taste of pottery’s diverse origins in East Asia
Clay pots emerged in different places and for different reasons, starting at least 16,000 years ago, a study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Cases of the new coronavirus hint at the disease’s severity, symptoms and spread
As the coronavirus outbreak continues, estimates suggest that the majority of cases are mild. New research is clarifying how more severe cases progress.
- Health & Medicine
CRISPR-edited immune cells for fighting cancer passed a safety test
Immune cells engineered with CRISPR to fight cancer made some errors, but caused no serious side effects in participants of a small clinical trial.
- Archaeology
An ancient skeleton from an underwater Mexican cave sheds light on early Americans
A nearly 10,000-year-old skeleton discovered in a submerged Mexican cave provides more clues to how and when people settled the Americas.
- Archaeology
Wasp nests provide the key to dating 12,000-year-old Aboriginal rock art
Dating wasp nest remnants found beneath and atop painted rock art in Australia suggests the pictures were made some 5,000 years later than thought.
- Health & Medicine
The FDA has approved the first drug to treat peanut allergies
The drug, called Palforzia, may reduce the dangers of unintentional exposure to peanuts for allergic children.
- Health & Medicine
An experimental HIV vaccine failed a key trial in South Africa
A vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus tested in South Africa did not reduce the risk of infection with the virus.
- Health & Medicine
SARS and the new coronavirus target the same cellular lock to infect cells
Experiments with living cells grown in the lab show that 2019-nCoV enters cells the same way as SARS.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists question White House measures to limit spread of coronavirus
The White House announced new steps to fight the coronavirus outbreak, in what’s becoming one of the biggest public health challenges in decades.
- Health & Medicine
The first case of coronavirus being spread by a person with no symptoms has been found
Coronavirus cases among coworkers in Germany suggest that the virus can spread from person to person before symptoms appear, similar to the flu.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists debated the necessity of a smallpox vaccine
In 1970, scientists debated the necessity of routine smallpox vaccinations as the disease declined. Fifty years later, the debate continues.
