Humans
Sign up for our newsletter
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Bear deadline
Court calls for the already overdue decision on listing polar bears as a threatened species.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Let there be light
Researchers report restoring vision to people with a rare, genetic form of blindness. A different technique helped blind mice see again and could bring back some sight in people with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or other blinding diseases.
- Psychology
Smarten up
Taxing memory training produces at least short-term increases in a critical type of intelligence.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Tripping up avian flu
Developing an effective vaccine for avian flu has been difficult, but small rings of DNA that hinder virus replication could offer an alternative.
- Ecosystems
Building Homes Where the Buffalo Roamed
A new study finds that being environmentally conscious is no guarantee you’ll put your home where you mouth is.
By Janet Raloff -
- Humans
The Return of EPA’s Libraries
After mothballing five libraries as a purported cost-cutting gesture, the agency is now responding to congressional prodding and unboxing its books.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Pockets of poor health
Life expectancy decreases in some locations
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
New approach might strike at the core of Alzheimer’s disease
By finding a way to stick an enzyme-inhibiting molecule to the membrane of a cell, scientists may have devised the framework for an Alzheimer’s drug.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Incan skull surgery
Incan healers became highly adept at skull surgery techniques that developed over thousands of years in ancient Peru.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Old drug offers new tricks for fighting cancer
A drug once envisioned as a treatment for cancer might instead prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Triggering autoimmune assaults
Mouth bacteria unleash inflammation-inducing protein
By Janet Raloff