Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
Bubonic plague hung around in Europe
DNA from plague victims suggests that a European reservoir of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis could have fueled the medieval pandemic.
- Health & Medicine
CDC issues travel guidelines for pregnant women
Pregnant women should consider postponing travel to much of Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Health & Medicine
Low-fiber diets make gut microbes poop out
A low-fiber diet makes for low bacterial diversity in mice. A new study shows those mice can then pass a denuded microbiome on to their offspring.
- Neuroscience
Measuring brain waves may help predict a patient’s response to anesthesia
Brain signatures hint at whether a person will resist or succumb to anesthesia.
- Archaeology
Humans visited Arctic earlier than thought
Human weapon injuries on mammoth bones show humans were in the Arctic up to 15,000 years earlier than researchers thought.
- Science & Society
Insights into sexes’ differing responses to stress
Chronic stress takes its toll on everyone. One of our reporters follows a line of research suggesting that stress hits women harder (or at least differently) than men.
- Genetics
Drug candidate fails to improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome
A drug designed to treat fragile X syndrome has proven ineffective in clinical trials.
- Life
Signs of food allergies may be present at birth
Overactive immune cells may prime babies for food allergies.
- Genetics
Drug candidate fails to improve symptoms of fragile X syndrome
A drug designed to treat fragile X syndrome has proven ineffective in clinical trials.
- Archaeology
Ancient stone tools raise tantalizing questions over who colonized Sulawesi
Hominids reached an island not far from hobbits’ home by around 200,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
Iceman has the world’s oldest tattoos
A more than 5,000-year-old European mummy gets his tattoos confirmed as world’s oldest.
- Health & Medicine
Mom’s weight during pregnancy shapes baby’s health
Obesity at conception or during pregnancy is a big problem that's getting bigger: New evidence says a child's mental health could be at stake.
