Humans
- Climate
Climate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly
Heat waves fueled by climate change killed scores of people and upended daily life. Here are some of those stories.
- Humans
Dietary evidence bolsters Clovis hunters’ reputation as mammoth killers
Mammoths made up as much as 40 percent of the ancient North Americans’ diet, a chemical analysis of human remains reveals.
- Archaeology
Neandertals may have built a hearth specifically to make tar
Findings from a cave in Gibraltar suggests Neandertals may have used complex fire structures to obtain adhesives from plants.
- Anthropology
Footprints offer a rare look at ancient human relatives crossing paths
The imprints put flat-footed and arched-foot walkers together at a prime spot in East Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Sluggish proteins may underpin aging and chronic disease
Sticky, sluggish proteins with “proteolethargy” may be a common denominator underpinning life’s ailments.
- Health & Medicine
Cervical cancer deaths are plummeting among young U.S. women
A new study shows a steep drop in cervical cancer deaths among the first cohort of women who were eligible for the HPV vaccine.
- Neuroscience
Like brain cells, kidney cells can form memories
Scientists found memory’s molecular machinery at work in cells outside the nervous system.
- Health & Medicine
Dengue is classified as an urban disease. Mosquitoes don’t care
Infectious diseases are often labeled “urban” or “rural.” Applying political labels to public health misses who is at risk, experts argue.
- Health & Medicine
Refurbished heart pacemakers work like new
“Old” pacemakers may still work for years, so doctors are refurbishing used devices and donating them to patients in low- and middle-income countries.
- Archaeology
Ancient Central Americans built a massive fish-trapping system
Earthen channels directed fish into ponds that formed seasonally, providing a dietary bounty for Maya civilizations starting around 4,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists identify a long-sought by-product of some drinking water treatments
Chlorine-based water treatments create many by-products, but one has been elusive. Its identification sets the stage for studying its health effects.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccines, fluoride, raw milk: How RFK Jr.’s views may shape public health
If confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy could influence U.S. policy on vaccines, drugs and food safety.
