Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
DNA tracks ancient Mediterranean farmers to Scandinavia
Modern genetic profile emerged from mating with resident hunter-gatherers, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Test drug eases behavioral symptoms seen in autism
In mouse experiments, the compound curbs repetitive behaviors and improves sociability.
- Health & Medicine
Snakes swirl in blink (and jump) of an eye
The Rotating Snakes optical illusion is preceded by blinking and tiny ocular movements, a new study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Pinpointing the G-spot, or not
A gynecologist claims to have anatomical evidence of a center of female sexual pleasure, but noted sex researchers are skeptical.
- Humans
Science denial in the 21st century
MADISON, Wis. — The arc of science has faced roadblocks for centuries, but the pattern of denying the weight of evidence has taken on new virulence recently. Highly motivated people openly cast doubt on well-established evidence — the theory of evolution, the human effects on climate change, the value of vaccines and other findings that […]
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- Psychology
Two heads sometimes better than one
Group decisions rise or fall based on what the most confident member knows or doesn’t know.
- Health & Medicine
Neighborhood linked to obesity
Children living in areas that lack walking-distance parks and supermarkets are more prone to put on weight, new studies find.
- Health & Medicine
Attention tunes the mind’s ear
Brain activity shows how one voice pattern stands out from the crowd.
- Life
Daytime anesthesia gives bees jet lag
Honeybees, as stand-ins for surgery patients, show drug’s aftereffects as biorhythms get out sync.
- Humans
Highlights from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists annual meeting, Portland, Ore., April 11-14
Shorts on Stone Age finds in Southeast Asia, chatting among Neandertal ancestors and early cannibalism.
- Humans
Ancient walking gets weirder
Fossil footprints and bones suggest variations among human ancestors in upright gait and stance.
