Humans
- Archaeology
Silk Road cities reached surprising heights in Central Asia’s mountains
Drones with lasers revealed hidden urban centers that may have aided trade and travel through mountainous regions during medieval times.
- Health & Medicine
Once-weekly insulin might mean fewer shots for some with diabetes
Recent clinical trials of weekly insulin highlight how this formulation may be useful in managing diabetes, but the drug has limitations.
- Health & Medicine
Doula care may lead to fewer C-sections or preterm births
A new study comparing the health outcomes of Medicaid patients with and without a doula suggests the extra support during pregnancy may be beneficial.
- Science & Society
Is U.S. democracy in decline? Here’s what the science says
Political scientists disagree over how to interpret a slight dip in the health of U.S. democracy.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, chronic pain mystified scientists
Chronic pain has puzzled scientists for decades, but diagnoses and treatments have come a long way.
- Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
- Physics
Radioactive beams give a real-time view of cancer treatment in mice
This first successful treatment of tumors with radioactive ion beams could one day lead to treating human patients’ tumors with millimeter precision.
- Health & Medicine
A viral gene drive could offer a new approach to fighting herpes
A new gene drive can copy and paste itself into the genomes of herpes simplex viruses in mice. The end goal is a version that disables the virus in humans.
- Health & Medicine
New electrical stitches use muscle movement to speed up healing
In rats, the sutures hastened recovery and reduced the risk of infection.
- Archaeology
Ancient Scythians had cultural roots in Siberia
A possible sacrificial ritual from around 2,800 years ago suggests mounted herders from Siberia shaped a Eurasian culture thousands of kilometers away.
- Health & Medicine
Blood pressure may read falsely high if the arm isn’t positioned properly
A clinical trial found blood pressure readings were higher with the arm on the lap or along the side, compared with supported at heart height.
- Genetics
The discovery of microRNA wins the 2024 physiology Nobel Prize
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun found a new principle of gene regulation essential for all multicellular organisms.
