Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
City size and structure may influence influenza epidemics
The size and structure of cities helps shape the progression of new influenza cases during a flu season, a new study finds.
- Humans
A 90,000-year-old bone knife hints special tools appeared early in Africa
The discovery of a bone knife in a Moroccan cave points to the ancient emergence of specialized toolmaking in the region.
- Health & Medicine
Discovery of how to prod a patient’s immune system to fight cancer wins a Nobel
Two scientists share the 2018 medicine Nobel for identifying proteins that act as brakes on tumor-fighting T cells.
- Life
Cancer immunotherapy wins the 2018 medicine Nobel Prize
Therapies that unleash immune system brakes against cancer have earned the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
- Health & Medicine
The CDC says 80,000 people died from the flu last year
The 2017-2018 flu season was one of the deadliest on record for the United States.
- Archaeology
Laser mapping shows the surprising complexity of the Maya civilization
A large-scale lidar survey of Guatemalan forests reveals evidence of ancient, interconnected Maya cities.
- Psychology
Shahzeen Attari explores the psychology of saving the planet
Merging psychology with engineering, Shahzeen Attari probes how people think about conservation, energy use and climate change.
- Life
Emily Balskus uses chemical logic to study the microbiome
Using chemistry to peer at the microbial world, Emily Balskus is revealing how microbes influence human health.
- Health & Medicine
Lisa Manning describes the physics of how cells move
Physicist Lisa Manning probes how physical forces influence cell behavior in asthma and other conditions.
- Animals
Jenny Tung wants to know how social stresses mess with genes
Evolutionary anthropologist Jenny Tung is untangling the many health effects of life as a social animal.
- Health & Medicine
A new vaccine raises hopes of someday curbing the tuberculosis epidemic
A new vaccine for those infected, but not sick, with tuberculosis reduced new active cases by 54 percent, compared with those given a placebo.
- Anthropology
The way hunter-gatherers share food shows how cooperation evolved
Camp customs override selfishness and generosity when foragers divvy up food, a study of East Africa’s Hazda hunter-gatherers shows.
