Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Animals
Orangutans take motherhood to extremes, nursing young for more than eight years
Weaning in orangutans has been tricky to see in the wild, so researchers turned to dental tests to reveal long nursing period.
- Health & Medicine
Readers ponder the randomness of DNA errors
Readers sent feedback on cellular slip-ups, moon mayhem and more.
- Archaeology
Chaco Canyon’s ancient civilization continues to puzzle
A dynasty may have risen from the dead in an ancient Chaco great house.
- Genetics
Jumping genes play a big role in what makes us human
Jumping genes have been a powerful force in human evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Where you live can affect your blood pressure, study suggests
For black adults, moving out of a racially segregated neighborhood is linked to a drop in blood pressure, a new study finds.
- Science & Society
New museum exhibit explores science of racism
“Us and Them,” a new exhibit at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, draws on genetics, psychology, anthropology and sociology to examine why racism and prejudice persist.
- Health & Medicine
Toddlers’ screen time linked to speech delays and lost sleep, but questions remain
Two new studies link handheld screen time for young children to less sleep and greater risk of expressive language delays. But the results are preliminary.
- Tech
New pelvic exoskeleton stops people from taking tumbles
A new exoskeleton helps people prone to falling stay on their feet.
- Health & Medicine
Breast cancer cells spread in an already-armed mob
Source tumors may already contain the mutations that drive aggressive cancer spread.
- Health & Medicine
‘Exercise pill’ turns couch potato mice into marathoners
An experimental "exercise in a pill" increases running endurance in mice before they step foot on a treadmill.
- Health & Medicine
New rules for cellular entry may aid antibiotic development
A new study lays out several rules to successfully enter gram-negative bacteria, which could lead to the development of sorely needed antibiotics.
- Anthropology
Homo naledi may have lived at around same time as early humans
South African species Homo naledi is much younger than previously thought.
