Humans

Science & Society

Science literacy: U.S. college courses really count

Over the past two decades, science literacy in the United States – an estimate of the share of adults who can follow complex science issues and maybe even render an informed opinion on them – has nearly tripled. But – and it’s a big but -- the proportion of people who fall into this category remains small. Just 28 percent.

Health & Medicine

Older adults’ brains boosted by more, not better, sleep

A study finds that older adults perform better on a learning and memory task if they have slept more, while uninterrupted rest matters more for younger folks.

Health & Medicine

Brain tells signs from pantomime

Different brain areas light up when deaf people use American Sign Language than when they gesture.

Health & Medicine

Rapid HIV treatment could slow growing TB rates

Widespread yearly testing and immediate treatment with antiretroviral drugs could avert more than 6 million tuberculosis cases in Africa, a new model finds.

Health & Medicine

IVF kids show shift in gene activity

Team finds differences related to metabolism and growth.

Health & Medicine

Possible prostate cancer culprit

Scientists identify a type of stem cell and a gene that play a role in the disease.

Climate

Climate science: Credibility at risk, scientists say

Publication of hacked emails exchanged by climate scientists. News accounts of problems in vetting data used in climate-assessment reports. Charges by critics that scientists won’t release their raw data so that others might independently vet published analyses of climate trends. Taken together, these events have marred the reputations of climate scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and perhaps science generally. Or so concluded a distinguished panel of science luminaries.

Humans

Finding coolable hot spots for crime

Some high-risk areas are easier to manage than others, a new model suggests.

Health & Medicine

Healthy teeth, healthy people

Talk leaves journalists flossing for details on oral health.

Health & Medicine

Brain at the breaking point

New research, showing how stresses can snap tiny tracks inside brain connections, may improve understanding of traumatic brain injury.

Tech

Leasing car batteries to the power company

Most people, on average, drive their cars only an hour or two a day. The rest of the time, those pricey vehicles sit parked on the street or in some garage. But if those cars had a big bank of batteries – typical of today’s gasoline hybrids or soon-to-hit-the-road plug-in hybrids – they could be earning their owners money while sitting parked. Maybe $5 to $10 a day, just by serving as a back-up energy-storage system for the electric-utility grid.

Health & Medicine

Dolphins may offer clues to treating diabetes

Insulin-resistance switch helps maintain glucose levels in dolphin brains, suggesting possible clues to treating diabetes in people.