Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
B12 shortage linked to cognitive problems
Subtle B12 deficiency plagues a surprising share of the elderly and may harm the brain, studies suggest.
- Health & Medicine
Nose divides sweet from foul
The way scent-detection machinery is laid out suggests that people are born with some innate olfactory preferences.
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- Life
XMRV tie to chronic fatigue debunked
A virus that was tied to the mysterious syndrome by 2009 research appears to have been a laboratory contaminant.
- Humans
Humans reached Asia in two waves
New genetic data show that some early migrants interbred with a mysterious Neandertal sister group.
- Health & Medicine
Body & Brain
When the brain learns to feel pain, kids’ effect on paternal testosterone and more in this week’s news.
- Humans
BPA: What to make of pollutant-laced kids’ foods
The San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund has just released some provocative data on the presence of bisphenol A — a hormone-mimicking pollutant — in every brand-name canned food it tested.
- Health & Medicine
Ringing in ears may have deeper source
Tinnitus results from the brain’s effort to compensate for hearing loss, a study concludes.
- Health & Medicine
Preterm infants show mortality risks as children, adults
Death rates are higher in preemies than full-term babies when these people reach early adulthood, a large study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Brain may sabotage efforts to lose weight
The brains of obese people act hungry whether their bodies are or not.
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- Psychology
Same face, different person
Photos of a stranger’s mug can look like many unfamiliar people to an observer, complicating facial recognition research.
