Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
New clues emerge on how foods spark anaphylaxis
In two studies of mice, a molecule called leukotriene helped trigger food-induced anaphylaxis. A drug approved for asthma — zileuton — diminished it.
- Archaeology
This ancient Siberian ice mummy had a talented tattooist
Researchers reconstructed a roughly 2,000-year-old woman’s tattoos, from prowling tigers to a fantastical griffinlike creature.
- Archaeology
7 stone tools might rewrite the timeline of hominid migration in Indonesia
Excavated implements suggest a Homo species arrived on Sulawesi over 1 million years ago, before a nearby island hosted hobbit ancestors.
- Genetics
This snail may hold a secret to human eye regeneration
Golden apple snails can regrow full, functional eyes. Studying their genes may reveal how to repair human eye injuries.
- Health & Medicine
What is the best exercise to improve sleep?
An analysis of 30 trials delivered a surprising twist: One exercise outperformed walking, resistance training and aerobic exercise in the treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia.
- Health & Medicine
Higher colon cancer rates may reflect earlier screening success
The recommended age for starting colorectal cancer screening is now 45. That shift may explain a rise in early cases.
- Health & Medicine
Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections
Probiotics containing Lactobacillus gasseri Lg-36 prevented C. difficile infections in mice, but L. acidophilus probiotics made infection more likely.
- Health & Medicine
Some U.S. newborns still get HIV despite efforts to screen for it. Here’s why
Routine tests in the third trimester may catch missed cases and flag the need for treatment that reduces a baby‘s risk of getting HIV to near zero.
- Health & Medicine
A molecule produced by gut microbes may help spur heart disease
A leftover from microbes’ meals is linked to early heart disease in people. In mice, it contributed to plaque buildup in the arteries.
- Health & Medicine
You may already have some protection from bird flu, but don’t count on it
Studies suggest that people who had seasonal flus or vaccinations have low antibody levels against H5N1 bird flu.
- Health & Medicine
Seeing sick faces may prime the immune system to repel invaders
Seeing sick-looking faces in virtual reality triggers brain circuit changes related to threat detection and boosts activity of certain immune cells.
- Archaeology
Maggots may have been on the Neandertal menu
Maggots on rotting meat may have given Neandertals’ a fatty, nitrogen-rich boost, a study of their bones suggests.
