Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
Asian primates hit hard by ancient climate change
Chinese fossils suggest primates diverged in Asia and Africa around 34 million years ago.
- Microbes
Leptospirosis bacterium still haunts swimming holes
Bacterial scourges lurk in warm recreational waters.
- Particle Physics
Readers ponder gravity wave physics
Gravitational waves, the benefits of fat and more reader feedback.
- Neuroscience
A breakdown product, not ketamine, may ease depression
Ketamine’s breakdown product, not the drug itself, eases depression, a mouse study suggests.
- Science & Society
Gun research faces roadblocks and a dearth of data
Gun violence research is stifled by funding shortfalls and limitations on data access.
- Neuroscience
Evidence conflicts on iron’s role in Parkinson’s disease
Experiments yield conflicting results about whether vulnerable nerve cells have too much or too little iron.
- Anthropology
Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago
Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.
- Health & Medicine
This week in Zika: Haiti hit early, possible monkey hosts, and more
A new test for Zika, how Haiti fits into the outbreak timeline, a look at monkeys that can carry the virus, and more in this week’s Zika Watch.
- Archaeology
Lasers unveil secrets and mysteries of Angkor Wat
The world’s largest temple, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, was revealed by laser and radar studies to be part of a sprawling medieval metropolis.
- Neuroscience
Words’ meanings mapped in the brain
Language isn’t just confined to one region of the brain: The meaning of words spark activity all over the cerebral cortex.
- Archaeology
Bear bone rewrites human history in Ireland
A rediscovered bear bone puts humans in Ireland at least 12,600 years ago.
- Humans
Gelada monkeys know their linguistic math
The vocalizations of gelada monkeys observe a mathematical principle seen in human language, a new study concludes.
