Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
‘The Poisoned City’ chronicles Flint’s water crisis
A new book examines how lead ended up in Flint’s water and resulted in a prolonged public health disaster.
- Health & Medicine
Publicity over a memory test Trump took could skew its results
Many media outlets reporting on President Trump’s cognitive assessment test could make it harder for doctors to use the exam to spot dementia.
- Health & Medicine
The brain may clean out Alzheimer’s plaques during sleep
Sleep deprivation may speed up development of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Neuroscience
Pregnancy depression is on the rise, a survey suggests
Women today may be at greater risk of depression during pregnancy than previous generations.
- Health & Medicine
Scared of heights? This new VR therapy could help
Virtual reality may be good training ground for facing your fears in real life.
- Archaeology
Ötzi loaded up on fatty food before he died
A new analysis provides a complete picture of what was in Ötzi the Iceman’s stomach when he died.
- Archaeology
Texas toolmakers add to the debate over who the first Americans were
Stone toolmakers inhabited Texas more than 16,000 years ago, before Clovis hunters arrived.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer cells engineered with CRISPR slay their own kin
Scientists can program the stealth cells to die before creating new tumors.
- Archaeology
Stone tools put early hominids in China 2.1 million years ago
Newly discovered stone tools in China suggest hominids left Africa 250,000 years earlier than we thought.
- Science & Society
In research, detours are a key part of discovery
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the scientific process and the often contradictory research about Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution is triggering diabetes in 3.2 million people each year
A new study quantifies the link between smoggy air and diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
No matter their size, newborn stomachs need frequent filling
Studies on newborn stomach size help explain why the tiny humans need to eat so frequently.
