Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Archaeology
Europe’s Stone Age fishers used beeswax to make a point
Late Stone Age Europeans made spears with beeswax adhesive.
- 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.
- Genetics
Ancient humans avoided inbreeding by networking
Ancient DNA expands foragers’ social, mating networks.
- Health & Medicine
Parenting advice gets a fact-check
A new website called Parentifact attempts to fight parenting misinformation.
- Computing
M. Ehsan Hoque develops digital helpers that teach social skills
Computer scientist M. Ehsan Hoque programs emotionally attuned assistants that bring people together.
- 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.
- 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.
- Science & Society
Success in science depends on luck, plus much more
Acting Editor in Chief Elizabeth Quill says luck is only one determinant of an individual's success in science.
- Anthropology
The rise of agricultural states came at a big cost, a new book argues
In ‘Against the Grain,’ a political scientist claims early states took a toll on formerly mobile groups’ health and happiness.
- Health & Medicine
Six in seven contact lens wearers take unnecessary risks with their eyes
A lot of contact wearers are not practicing healthy habits with their lenses, a national survey finds.
- Life
Body clock mechanics wins U.S. trio the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
The cellular mechanisms governing circadian rhythms was a Nobel Prize‒winning discover for three Americans.
