Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer and college
Highly educated people have reaped the benefits of cancer prevention and treatment. Death rates in this group have fallen, but people with less education have missed out on these gains.
- Health & Medicine
Animal rights and wrongs
Featured blog: Some animal-rights activists are taking a page out of the anti-abortionists' playbook and now bully animal researchers at home.
- Anthropology
Loud and clear
Skulls of Neandertal ancestors show the prehistoric humans had a hearing capacity similar to present-day people, suggesting human speech could have originated much earlier than previously thought.
- Humans
Data Recycling and Other No-No’s
At least one editor argues that maintaining the ethical behavior of journal authors requires constant policing.
- Health & Medicine
Shared recipes for longer life
Being female and eating a calorie-restricted diet contribute to long lifespan in animals, and the two traits may share molecular mechanisms.
- Math
Strategy to stop a pandemic
A limited supply of vaccine shots, if targeted well, could stop the spread of disease.
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- Health & Medicine
Sick and down
To fight off an infection or illness, the body shifts into a slow-down mode that mirrors some symptoms of depression. In fact, scientists now think the immune response itself may even cause the mood disorder.
- Psychology
Lie defectives
A new analysis challenges the view that a few people with special experience can detect others’ lies with great accuracy.
- Health & Medicine
SIDS and serotonin
Study finds brain chemical deficiency causing sudden death in mice could be linked to SIDS
- Life
Fountain of Youth, with caveats
A chemical in red wine thought to mimic the life-extending properties of calorie restriction improves health, but doesn’t necessarily lengthen life; it could also harm the brain.
- Agriculture
Fishy Data on Weed Killer
A popular weed killer can feminize wildlife by tinkering with a gene that indirectly affects the production of sex hormones.
