Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Bird flu leaves tracks in brain
H5N1 infection might make survivors vulnerable to Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders, a study in mice indicates.
- Humans
Predatory pythons shift Everglades ecology
As invasive snakes expand territory, some mammal populations drop by more than 90 percent within a decade.
- Psychology
Fighting willpower’s catch-22
Avoiding daily temptations works better than using willpower, which has oddly unintended effects.
- Humans
Catching a mood on Facebook
Happiness and other feelings filter among online friends through their brief posts.
- Health & Medicine
Prions more mobile than thought
Scientists coax pathogens from cow and goat to infect engineered mice, suggesting disease agents can readily jump from one species to another.
- Humans
Intel Science Talent Search names top 40 finalists
More than 1,800 high school students entered the 2012 competition.
- Health & Medicine
Social friction tied to inflammation
Negative interactions with others or stressful competition for another’s attention seem to have risky biological effects on an individual.
- Health & Medicine
Turn off, tune in, drop out
Magic mushrooms reduce blood flow to parts of the brain responsible for sense of self.
- Humans
Election night numbers can signal fraud
Wealth of high-turnout blowouts in Russia’s 2011 parliamentary contest strongly suggests ballot stuffing, an analysis concludes.
- Humans
Junk food in schools gets weighty reprieve
Disputed data suggest that non-nutritious eats sold on-site don’t fatten kids.
- Health & Medicine
Mineral quashes deadly bacterial poisons
Manganese supplement might someday help counter a virulent form of E. coli.
- Health & Medicine
Proteins may warn of diabetic kidney disease risk
Patients who have high levels of compounds called TNF receptors in their blood have a heightened risk of developing renal failure, two studies suggest.
