Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Yes, statins protect hearts. But critics question their expanding use
Even after decades of study, questions remain about statin safety.
- Anthropology
Water tubing accidents, table run-ins cause Neandertal-like injuries
People’s injury patterns today can’t explain how Neandertals got so many head wounds.
- Health & Medicine
Lungs enlist immune cells to fight infections in capillaries
Immune cells in the lungs provide a rapid counterattack to bloodstream infections, a new study in mice finds.
- Neuroscience
Nerve cell miswiring linked to depression
A gene helps nerve cell axons extend to parts of the brain to deliver serotonin, a brain chemical associated with depression.
- Science & Society
HPV vaccine as cancer prevention is a message that needs to catch on
Vaccination against HPV is cancer prevention, but low vaccination rates suggest that message isn’t clear.
- Health & Medicine
Zika hides out in body’s hard-to-reach spots
Zika virus sticks around in the central nervous system and lymph nodes of monkeys.
- Archaeology
First settlers reached Americas 130,000 years ago, study claims
Mastodon site suggests first Americans arrived unexpectedly early.
- Health & Medicine
Long naps lead to less night sleep for toddlers
Daytime naps can steal sleep from the night, a small study of toddlers suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Faux womb keeps preemie lambs alive
A device can keep premature lambs alive for a month in womblike conditions.
- Humans
Homo naledi’s brain shows humanlike features
South African Homo species had small but humanlike brain, scientists say.
- Archaeology
Oldest evidence of patterned silk loom found in China
Chinese finds offer earliest look at game-changing weaving machine.
- Anthropology
Ötzi the Iceman froze to death
Copper Age Iceman froze to death, with shoulder and head damage.
