Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Acid reflux link to asthma now in doubt
Heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors, commonly prescribed for asthma patients, don’t prevent breathing attacks.
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- Chemistry
Another type of traffic stress
Scientists find signs of DNA damage from air pollutants spewed by cars and trucks.
- Physics
Radioactive cigarettes
Polonium remains an underappreciated factor in the lung-cancer risk posed by cigarettes.
- Life
Primate vision puts pieces together
Study suggests nerve cells in retinas create an intricate system of interlocking receptive fields.
- Chemistry
Leaden blood hikes granny’s heart risks
Featured blog: Even low concentrations of lead circulating in blood may pose lethal heart risks, a new study finds.
- Animals
Chimps ambidextrous when digging wells
A survey of water-collection holes dug on the banks of an African river by wild chimpanzees indicates that, unlike people, these apes don’t have a preference for using either the right or left hand on manual tasks.
- Anthropology
Hobbit brain small, but organized for complex intelligence
Evolution may have endowed a controversial species with small but humanlike brains equipped to support advanced thinking
- Health & Medicine
Sleep may clear the decks for next day’s learning
Two separate studies suggest that sleep reduces connections between neurons in fruit flies’ brains.
- Life
Cells renew in the human heart
Carbon 14 from Cold War–era nuclear bomb tests allowed researchers to track cell birth.
- Health & Medicine
HPV screen beats Pap smear
A test for human papillomavirus outperforms the standard Pap smear in catching precancerous cervical lesions, a study of women age 30 and over shows.
- Health & Medicine
Scary data about bum medical diagnoses
Doctors' misdiagnoses are frequently misdiagnosed — at least before it's too late.
