Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
If you thought the most recent flu season was bad, you were right
The recent U.S. flu season was classified as highly severe overall, the third time since 2003 that the seasonal outbreak has earned that designation.
- Archaeology
This theory suggests few workers were needed to cap Easter Island statues
A small workforce may have put huge stones on the heads of Easter Island statues.
- Health & Medicine
Suicide rates have shot up in almost every U.S. state
Suicide rates increased sharply in nearly all 50 states from 1999 to 2016, according to a new government report.
- Health & Medicine
At-home telomere testing is not a reliable marker of aging, researcher says
Telomere testing for consumers offers a poor measure of “biological age,” says Johns Hopkins oncologist Mary Armanios.
- Health & Medicine
There are benefits to prenatal yoga, but lingering questions remain
Prenatal yoga offers benefits to pregnant women, but a bigger and more rigorous body of research is needed.
- Life
Dogs carry a surprising variety of flu viruses
Dogs in China carry a wider variety of flu viruses than previously thought, and may be capable of passing the flu to humans.
- Health & Medicine
What we know — and don’t know — about a new migraine drug
A migraine prevention drug was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But some questions about the therapy remain.
- Earth
Here’s a look at the world’s deadliest volcanoes — and the ways they kill
Scientists gathered data on nearly 280,000 global volcano deaths from 1500 to 2017 and sorted fatalities by cause of death, such as lava flows or gas.
- Health & Medicine
‘Outbreak’ puts the life cycle of an epidemic on display
At the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the exhibit “Outbreak” highlights how infectious diseases shape our world.
- Health & Medicine
Blame opioids for a fifth of young adult deaths in the United States
Of young adults aged 25 to 34 who died in 2016, 20 percent of those deaths were opioid-related.
- Health & Medicine
Experts advise: Start colorectal screening at 45, not 50
The American Cancer Society recommends that colorectal screening begin at the age of 45 for average-risk individuals.
- Climate
The first Americans could have taken a coastal route into the New World
Alaskan glaciers retreated in time for ancient coastal entries of the first Americans.
