Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
An African strontium map sheds light on the origins of enslaved people
While genetic tests can reveal the ancestry of enslaved individuals, strontium analysis can now home in on where they actually grew up.
- Health & Medicine
A new kind of non-opioid painkiller gets FDA approval
The new drug, called Journavx, is a non-opioid for treating short-term moderate to severe pain.
- Neuroscience
Scratching an itch is so good, and so bad
The motion kicks off inflammation but may also combat harmful bacteria
- Health & Medicine
Better male birth control is on the horizon
Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?
- Archaeology
Here’s how ancient Amazonians became master maize farmers
Casarabe people grew the nutritious crop year-round on savannas thanks to networks of drainage canals and ponds.
- Health & Medicine
Can you actually die of a broken heart?
Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.
- Animals
Fever’s link with a key kind of immunity is surprisingly ancient
When sick, Nile tilapia seek warmer water. That behavioral fever triggers a specialized immune response, hinting the connection evolved long ago.
- Health & Medicine
Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from WHO. Here’s what that means
When Trump’s move to leave WHO takes effect in a year, it may gut funding for global public health and limit U.S. access to crucial data, experts warn.
- Health & Medicine
Cigarettes with less nicotine may help some smokers quit
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule to drastically reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products.
- Psychology
Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges
Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.
- Health & Medicine
What bird flu experts are watching for in 2025
Since early 2024, the U.S. has logged 66 human cases of H5N1. Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on the virus’s spread as we enter a new year.
- Archaeology
Ancient, engraved stones may have been buried to summon the sun
Members of a Stone Age culture in Denmark may have ritually buried stones to counter the effects of a volcanic eruption.
