Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Making T cells tougher against HIV
Delivering small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, to human immune cells in mice protects the cells from HIV and suggests future therapy for patients.
- Humans
Neandertal mitochondrial DNA deciphered
Researchers have completed a mitochondrial genome sequence from a Neandertal. DNA taken from a 38,000-year-old bone indicates that humans and Neandertals diverged 660,000 years ago and are distinct groups.
- Life
Eat less, weigh more
Separate neurons in the nematode brain control eating and fat-building. The discovery may help explain some mysteries of obesity.
- Health & Medicine
Nanomagnets tackle cancer
Under the influence of an external magnetic field, tiny magnets act as highly localized space heaters, warming to temperatures that kill adjacent cancer cells.
- Earth
TV Take-Backs
Here's one solution for all of the conventional TVs that will be cast off during the imminent digital-TV transition.
- Climate
A Fairy Tale: Cheap Gas
Lawmakers are looking for an answer on how to lower the price of gasoline: That's the wrong question.
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- Health & Medicine
Neuron Killers
Misfolded, clumping proteins evade conviction, but they remain prime suspects in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Humans
Wake-up call for sleep apnea
A large, long-term study of sleep apnea links the breathing disorder to increased risk of death.
- Climate
Trade affects China’s carbon footprint
Featured blog: Goods exported from China to the United States and elsewhere account for a huge share of the Asian behemoth's emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Health & Medicine
Dopamine could help the sleep-deprived still learn
Sleep loss impairs fruit flies’ ability to learn, just as it does in people. But boosting dopamine in the flies can erase these learning deficits.
- Health & Medicine
Promising HIV gel fails in latest trial
Halted in trials, an anti-HIV gel is ineffective, but may not add to risk of infection, as previously thought.
