Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
The Iceman tells a new tale: Infection with ulcer-causing bacteria
Ötzi the Iceman was infected with a virulent strain of H. pylori. A new study is the first to piece together an ancient genome of these bacteria.
By Meghan Rosen -
- Microbes
Get to know your microbes at ‘The Secret World Inside You’
The American Museum of Natural History’s newest exhibit rehabilitates bacteria’s bad reputation and introduces visitors to the microbiome.
By Devin Powell - Psychology
Kids grasp words as symbols before learning to read
Preschoolers grasp that written words refer to specific things before they learn to read.
By Bruce Bower -
- Health & Medicine
High-intensity interval training has great gains — and pain
Intense spurts of activity followed by brief rest can improve heart health, blood glucose and muscle endurance. But some question if the pain of HIIT workouts will impede the popularity.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, a promising agent pulled
DMSO was promised to cure everything from headache to the common cold. But human testing stopped in 1965.
- Science & Society
Climate, new physics and Jupiter on the horizon for 2016
The first issue of the new year features stories about what will, editor in chief Eva Emerson predicts, hold on as scientific newsmakers during 2016.
By Eva Emerson - Tech
Stretchy silicon sticker monitors your heartbeat
A new stretchy memory device looks like a temporary tattoo and works like a heart rate monitor.
- Psychology
As suicide rates rise, researchers separate thoughts from actions
Advances in suicide research and treatment may depend on separating thoughts from acts.
By Bruce Bower - Science & Society
How seeing ‘Star Wars’ satisfies your narcissistic tendencies
Participating in geek culture allows self-identified geeks to satisfy a narcissistic need for expert status, a new study hypothesizes.
- Health & Medicine
Gene behavior distinguishes viral from bacterial infections
Researchers have identified signatures of viral infection, a distinction that may help doctors tell whether bacteria or a virus is causing trouble.