Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
It masquerades as malignant. But this bone-covered tumor is benign
Scientists have described a novel, yet benign bone-covered growth's characteristics for doctors, so patients don't receive unnecessary chemotherapy.
- Neuroscience
A spot in the base of the brain has a love of language
Brain scans show a spot in the cerebellum attuned specifically to words, expanding on studies that point to the region's importance for language.
- Anthropology
This hand stencil in Indonesia is now the oldest known rock art
The work suggests early Homo sapiens developed enduring artistic practices as they moved through the islands of Southeast Asia.
- Health & Medicine
Color blindness hides a key warning sign of bladder cancer
A large U.S. health records study suggests that difficulty seeing blood in urine may put color-blind patients at higher risk.
- Archaeology
This ancient pottery holds the earliest evidence of humans doing math
Flower designs on 8,000-year-old Mesopotamian pots reveal a “mathematical knowledge” perhaps developed to share land and crops, archaeologists say.
- Health & Medicine
Botox could be used to fight snakebite
A study on rabbits dosed with viper venom suggests that botulinum toxin may alleviate some effects of snakebite, possibly by dampening inflammation.
- Health & Medicine
What science says about the Trump administration’s new vaccine schedule
The federal move to no longer recommend certain vaccines for all U.S. children is not supported by new evidence and could undermine health gains.
- Neuroscience
Easy on the eyes is also easy on the brain
A new study finds that the brain spends less energy processing scenes that people find aesthetically pleasing.
- Health & Medicine
New dietary guidelines flip the food pyramid
The new guidelines emphasizes eating protein and full-fat dairy while reducing sugar, carbs and ultraprocessed foods.
- Archaeology
60,000-year-old poison arrowheads show early humans’ skillful hunting
A new analysis uncovers traces of poison on the South African arrowheads, pushing back the timeline for poisoned weapons by more than 50,000 years.
- Science & Society
These scientific discoveries brought us joy in 2025
Amidst a tough year for science, glimmers of joy burst through in revelations from the silly to the sublime.
- Science & Society
This new year, maybe resolve to quit
Western cultural stories tend to emphasize perseverance. But science shows that knowing when to quit has a place in our success too.
