Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Studies aim to resolve confusion over mercury risks from fish
Several new papers suggest strategies by which American diners can negotiate a mercury minefield to tap dietary benefits in fish.
- Health & Medicine
Marker protein may help breast cancer screening
High amounts of EGFR can show up in the blood as much as 17 months before disease is diagnosed, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
IOM: Manufacturers should help Americans cut back on salt
Americans have developed an unhealthy love affair with this savory condiment. And 40 years of haranguing people about their overconsumption has “generally failed to make a dent in Americans’ intake,” according to the Institute of Medicine, a research arm of the National Academy of Sciences. A new report it releases April 21 will ask the Food and Drug Administration to set lower ceilings on how much salt can be added to processed foods.
- Anthropology
Lice hang ancient date on first clothes
Genetic analysis puts garment origin at 190,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Colorectal cancer risk linked to stomach bacterium, inflammation
Stomach infection and high levels of inflammatory proteins are more common in people with colon polyps or disease, two studies show.
- Chemistry
From movies you’ll love to drugs you’ll take
A new method picks out promising drug compounds by computer, in much the same way Netflix recommends DVDs to its customers.
- Anthropology
Hobbit debate goes out on some limbs
A new analysis of fossil hobbits’ limb bones links them to much earlier hominids, and immediately attracts criticism.
- Anthropology
For ancient hominids, thumbs up on precision grip
An analysis of a 6-million-year-old bone indicates that a humanlike grasp evolved among some of the earliest hominids.
- Life
BATTLE trial personalizes lung cancer treatment
A new study makes a first step toward personalized chemotherapy.
- Humans
Mercury surprise: Rice can be risky
A new study out of China shows that for millions of people at risk of eating toxic amounts of mercury-laced food, fish isn't the problem. Rice is.
- Anthropology
‘Java Man’ takes age to extremes
New dating of Indonesian strata has produced unexpected results.
- Health & Medicine
Why a rotten tooth is hard to find
The brain can’t distinguish some kinds of pain coming from top versus bottom teeth.
