Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Archaeology
What did Homo sapiens eat 170,000 years ago? Roasted, supersized land snails
Charred shell bits at an African site reveal the earliest known evidence of snail-meal prep, suggesting ancient humans cooked and shared the mollusks.
- Health & Medicine
A new battery starves cancer cells of oxygen in mice
When a self-charging battery is placed on a mouse’s tumor and combined with anticancer drugs, it reduced tumor size by 90 percent.
- Health & Medicine
The antiviral drug Paxlovid reduces the risk of getting long COVID
In a study of U.S. veterans’ health records, the drug lowered the odds of developing 10 of 13 long-term health problems following a COVID-19 infection.
- Neuroscience
Scientists triggered the flow of spinal fluid in the awake brain
If future studies confirm these waking waves wash away toxic proteins from the brain, the finding could lead to new treatments for brain disorders.
- Anthropology
Native Americans corralled Spanish horses decades before Europeans arrived
Great Plains groups incorporated domestic horses into their cultures by the early 1600s, before Europeans moved north from Mexico.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, air pollution was linked to more reports of animal bites
Scientists spent decades tying air pollution to health and behavior problems. Now, there’s more evidence that dirty air influences aggression in animals.
- Anthropology
A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat
The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate.
- Health & Medicine
Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks
Researchers are racing to try to understand how much humans are exposed and what levels are toxic.
- Health & Medicine
How raccoon dog DNA fits into the COVID-19 origins debate
Did the virus that causes COVID-19 come from animals or a lab? Evidence hints at animals. Either way, we should be prepping for the next pandemic.
- Genetics
DNA from Beethoven’s hair hints at what killed the composer
Many historians suspect Beethoven died from liver failure. A new analysis shows he had a heightened genetic risk for liver disease, researchers say.
- Health & Medicine
A hormone shot helped drunk mice sober up quickly
Drunk mice injected with the hormone FGF21 woke up and regained their balance faster than inebriated mice that did not receive the shot.
- Health & Medicine
Sleeping sickness is nearing elimination. An experimental drug could help
Clinical trials of acoziborole are under way in sub-Saharan Africa, where sleeping sickness is endemic.
