Humans
- Anthropology
Numbers beyond words
New research with Amazonian villagers suggests that their language lacks number words but that they still comprehend precise quantities of objects.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Wishful thinking
Male athletes who think they are getting growth hormone claim to feel better and score higher in a jumping test while on a placebo.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Where funny faces come from
Making a face might have helped human ancestors survive.
By Amy Maxmen - Health & Medicine
Girl athletes’ energy crisis
Lack of regular periods in teenage female athletes stems from a hormone imbalance arising from inadequate energy intake.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Family Snaps in Peril
Digital photography appears to be far more ephemeral than camera sales people have led us to believe.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Cooking cancer cells
A new technique combining antibodies, carbon nanotubes and near-infrared light holds promise for treating malignancies, scientists report.
- Archaeology
Green reapers
Agriculture's rise sparked widespread use of green stone beads as fertility charms and as protection against supernatural forces, scientists propose.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
How Would Carnegie Judge Our Digital Libraries?
As the nature of "modern" libraries change, one digital designer questions whether libraries are losing much more than just hard copies of their books.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Digital Data Cry Out — Save Me!
Despite being make-or-break issues, how to collect, store, and catalog digital data are on the radar screens of few scientists and engineers.
By Janet Raloff - Life
Wine find
Cell tests suggest that resveratrol, the substance that seems to account for the healthful effects of red wine, might have antiobesity effects, too.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Good news for coffeeholics
When lifestyle factors like smoking were taken into account, coffee drinkers had lower death rates than their non-drinking peers, according to a study of more than 120,000 people.
By Tia Ghose - Health & Medicine
Keep at it
Moderate exercise can extend survival for overweight and obese men who have diabetes.
By Nathan Seppa