Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
A drug for heavy metal poisoning may double as a snakebite treatment
An initial clinical trial in Kenya found no safety concerns, a first step toward testing unithiol as a treatment for venomous snakebites in people.
- Health & Medicine
Three U.S. tick species may cause a mysterious red meat allergy
Two cases of alpha-gal syndrome suggest that the lone star tick isn’t the only species in the United States capable of triggering an allergy to red meat.
- Animals
Snakes are often the villains. A new book gives them a fair shake
From demon to danger noodle, human ideas about snakes can be as contradictory as the creatures themselves. In Slither, Stephen S. Hall challenges our serpent stereotypes.
- Health & Medicine
An overlooked organ may help the ovary function
No longer considered functionless, the “rediscovered” rete ovarii may be crucial for understanding “unexplainable” infertility and ovarian disorders.
- Anthropology
Denisovans inhabited Taiwan, new fossil evidence suggests
An expanding geographic range for these close Neandertal relatives leaves Denisovans' evolutionary status uncertain.
- Health & Medicine
A shadowy market for weight-loss drugs has emerged online
People are buying semaglutide and tirzepatide, the key ingredients in Ozempic and Zepbound, from unconventional sources. Doctors have safety concerns.
- Neuroscience
Memory manipulation is the stuff of sci-fi. Someday it could be real
Experiments point to how scientists can strengthen or weaken memories, which may eventually lead to treatments for Alzheimer’s disease or PTSD.
- Climate
A lush, green Arabian Desert may have once linked Africa and Asia
Mineral formations in caves reveal recurring periods of humidity in the Arabian Desert over the last 8 million years.
- Archaeology
Stone Age hunter-gatherers may have been surprisingly skilled seafarers
New archaeological finds in Malta add to an emerging theory that early Stone Age humans cruised the open seas.
- Anthropology
Rare books covered with seal skin hint at a medieval trade network
The furry seal skins may have made their way to French monasteries from as far away as Greenland.
- Health & Medicine
The U.S. measles outbreak shows no signs of slowing
As a second Texas child dies from the preventable disease, HHS Secretary Kennedy is now urging measles vaccination yet still touting unproven treatments.
- Archaeology
Ancient Arabian cymbals ring up Bronze Age musical connections
Copper instruments discovered at a 4,000-year-old site in Oman echo ritual influences from South Asia.
