Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Psychology
Researchers find early autism signs in some kids
A long-term investigation raises the possibility of identifying 14-month-olds who will develop autism spectrum disorder almost two years later.
- Health & Medicine
Cats attracted to ADHD drug, a feline poison
Since 2004, drugs designed for use by people have been the leading source of poisonings among companion animals, according to the national Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, Ill. And among cats, Adderall – a combination of mixed amphetamine salts used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – has quickly risen to become one of the most common and dangerous of these pharmaceutical threats.
- Health & Medicine
For a lucky few, ‘dioxins’ might be heart healthy
Dioxins and their kin are notorious poisons. They work by turning on what many biologists had long assumed was a vestigial receptor with no natural beneficial role. But it now appears that in a small proportion of people, this receptor may confer heart benefits.
- Health & Medicine
Temporary hearing impairment leads to ‘lazy ear’
A rodent study shows that even after ear infections clear up, brain rewiring may cause long-term hearing problems.
- Health & Medicine
First complete look at families’ genes
Comparing the complete genetic material of family members pinpoints genes involved in three rare inherited diseases.
- Climate
National academies to review IPCC procedures
Global science organizations asked to help evaluate processes that produced 2007 climate report.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists offer compelling images of Gulf War illness
BLOG: Researchers have just rolled out a host of brain images — various types of magnetic resonance scans and brain-wave measurements — that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome.
- Health & Medicine
Cocktails ward off the bulge
A large study has found that middle-aged women who drink moderately gain less weight over the years compared to their teetotaling peers.
- Climate
Ancient Norse colonies hit bad climate times
Temperatures in Iceland plummeted soon after settlers arrived, a new chemical analysis suggests.
- Life
Boys and girls differ in genetic response to what mom eats
Expectant mothers’ diets may influence gene activity differently in the placentas that feed sons and daughters, a new mouse study reveals.
- Health & Medicine
Gene linked to pain perception
A common genetic variant that appears to increase sensitivity could lead to the development of better medications.
- Earth
Green-ish pesticides bee-devil honey makers
Pesticides are agents designed to rid targeted portions of the human environment of undesirable critters – such as boll weevils, roaches or carpenter ants. They’re not supposed to harm beneficials. Like bees. Yet a new study from China finds that two widely used pyrethroid pesticides – chemicals that are rather “green” as bug killers go – can significantly impair the pollinators’ reproduction.
