Humans

  1. Life

    Gut fungi might be linked to obesity and inflammatory bowel disorders

    Fungi are overlooked contributors to health and disease.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Chemistry

    A potential drug found in a sea creature can now be made efficiently in the lab

    Cooking bryostatin 1 up in a lab lets researchers explore its potential as a drug.

    By Laurel Hamers
  3. Health & Medicine

    In many places around the world, obesity in kids is on the rise

    The last 40 years saw a big leap in obesity among children, totaling an estimated 124 million boys and girls in 2016.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  4. Genetics

    We’re more Neandertal than we thought

    Neandertals contributed more to human traits than previously thought.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  5. Science & Society

    Economics Nobel nudges behavioral economist into the limelight

    Behavioral economist Richard Thaler started influential investigations of behavioral economics, which earned him the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

    By Bruce Bower
  6. Archaeology

    Europe’s Stone Age fishers used beeswax to make a point

    Late Stone Age Europeans made spears with beeswax adhesive.

    By Bruce Bower
  7. Neuroscience

    New book offers a peek into the mind of Oliver Sacks

    The wide-ranging essays in Oliver Sacks’ ‘The River of Consciousness’ contemplate evolution, memory and more.

    By Laura Sanders
  8. Genetics

    Ancient humans avoided inbreeding by networking

    Ancient DNA expands foragers’ social, mating networks.

    By Bruce Bower
  9. Health & Medicine

    Parenting advice gets a fact-check

    A new website called Parentifact attempts to fight parenting misinformation.

    By Laura Sanders
  10. Computing

    M. Ehsan Hoque develops digital helpers that teach social skills

    Computer scientist M. Ehsan Hoque programs emotionally attuned assistants that bring people together.

    By Bruce Bower
  11. Anthropology

    Christina Warinner uncovers ancient tales in dental plaque

    Molecular biologist Christina Warinner studies calculus, or fossilized dental plaque, which contains a trove of genetic clues to past human diet and disease.

    By Helen Thompson
  12. Health & Medicine

    Luhan Yang strives to make pig organs safe for human transplants

    A bold approach to genome editing by biologist Luhan Yang could alleviate the shortage of organs and ease human suffering.

    By Alexandra Witze