Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
Search for fossils from the comfort of home
The citizen science website FossilFinder.org lets anyone with an Internet connection look for fossils and characterize rocks at Kenya’s Lake Turkana Basin
- Archaeology
Mystery still surrounds Neandertals
Neandertals’ relationship to modern humans is still a matter of debate.
- Microbes
Gut microbes signal when dinner is done
Helpful E. coli bacteria that live in the guts of animals produce proteins that can decrease an animal’s appetite only 20 minutes after receiving nutrients
- Health & Medicine
Having parasites can boost fertility
Infection with parasitic worms tinkers with fertility.
- Health & Medicine
A good diet for you may be bad for me
Eating the same foods can produce very different reactions in people.
- Health & Medicine
Engineered vocal cords show promise in animal tests
Lab-grown vocal cord tissue could lead the way to better treatments for people with vocal problems
- Psychology
Culture shapes sense of fairness
Culture shapes kids’ sense of fairness, especially when they get the short end of the stick.
- Health & Medicine
When selenium is scarce, brain battles testes for it
In competition for selenium, testes draw the nutrient away from the brain.
- Psychology
Caffeine gives cocaine an addictive boost
Not only is it popular to “cut” cocaine with caffeine, the combination might be more addictive.
- Health & Medicine
Study brews up more evidence for coffee’s health benefits
Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of dying early from heart and brain diseases and suicide.
- Health & Medicine
Study brews up more evidence for coffee’s health benefits
Drinking up to five cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of dying early from heart and brain diseases and suicide.
- Anthropology
DNA puts Neandertal relatives in Siberia for 60,000 years
Recovered DNA suggests Denisovans inhabited Siberia for around 60,000 years.
