Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
It’s time to retire the five-second rule
Wet food can slurp bacteria off the floor in less than a second.
- Genetics
Single exodus from Africa gave rise to today’s non-Africans
Genetics and climate studies differ on when modern humans left Africa.
- Archaeology
Digital rehab exposes Biblical roots of ancient Israeli scroll
Virtual unwrapping reveals Biblical text on charred remains of ancient Israeli scroll.
- Health & Medicine
Phil Baran finds simple recipes for complex molecules
Chemist Phil Baran draws on artistry and creativity to efficiently synthesize molecules that could improve people's lives.
- Neuroscience
Jessica Cantlon seeks the origins of numerical thinking
Cognitive neuroscientist Jessica Cantlon wants to find out how humans understand numbers and where that understanding comes from.
- Humans
Lawrence David’s gut check gets personal
Computational biologist Lawrence David regularly opens himself to new scientific challenges, including tracking his own microbiome.
- Life
How one scientist’s gut microbes changed over a year
Computational biologist Lawrence David chronicled changes in his gut microbes for a year.
- Health & Medicine
Activity trackers fall short in weight-loss trial
In a two-year study, wearable activity monitors didn’t help young adults lose more weight.
- Neuroscience
Brain’s physical structure may help guide its wiring
The brain’s stiffness helps dictate how nerve cells grow, a study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Mixing Pokémon Go and driving isn’t safe
Pokémon Go alters reality to driver’s detriment, a new study finds.
- Archaeology
Painting claimed to be among Australia’s oldest known rock art
A painting on a cave’s ceiling may be one of Australia’s earliest examples of rock art, according to researchers who used an ancient wasps’ nest to date the art.
- Health & Medicine
Maybe you don’t need to burp your baby
Everybody does it. But burping babies after a meal may not cut down on crying or spit-ups, a study suggests.
