Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Marijuana use among pregnant women is rising, and so are concerns
Pediatricians are urging caution as data show more pregnant women are using marijuana. More research is urgently needed on the drug’s effects during pregnancy.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, a pessimistic view for heart transplants
Surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant in 1967. In 1968, he predicted that patients would survive five years at best. Fortunately, he was wrong.
- Genetics
German skeletons hint that medieval warrior groups recruited from afar
Graveyard finds may come from an ancient European warrior household with political pull.
- Health & Medicine
Teens born from assisted pregnancies may have higher blood pressure
Kids born from reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization are susceptible to high blood pressure as adolescents, a small study finds.
- Psychology
Huge ‘word gap’ holding back low-income children may not exist after all
The claim that poor children hear fewer words than kids from higher-income families faces a challenge.
- Health & Medicine
CRISPR gene editing relieves muscular dystrophy symptoms in dogs
Scientists have used CRISPR’s molecular scissors in beagle puppies to repair a genetic mutation that causes muscular dystrophy.
- Health & Medicine
Officials raise Puerto Rico’s death toll from Hurricane Maria to nearly 3,000 people
Nearly 3,000 Puerto Ricans died due to Hurricane Maria as of February 2018, according to a new report.
- Health & Medicine
The United States and Brazil top the list of nations with the most gun deaths
Globally, the estimated number of gun deaths due to homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries went up from 1990 to 2016.
- Health & Medicine
As algae blooms increase, scientists seek better ways to predict these toxic tides
Scientists around the United States are developing programs that can predict harmful algal blooms in advance.
- Psychology
‘Replication crisis’ spurs reforms in how science studies are done
Redos of social sciences studies from major journals point to opportunities for improvement.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution is shaving a year off our average life expectancy
The first country-by-country look at how dirty air affects when we die shows it can have more impact on mortality than breast or lung cancer.
- Humans
Meet the first known child of a Neandertal and a Denisovan
DNA analysis of a bone fragment reveals Neandertal movements between Siberia and western Europe.
