Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Anthropology
7-million-year-old limb fossils may be from the earliest known hominid
An earlier report on one of the bones of a 7-million-year-old creature that may have walked upright has triggered scientific misconduct charges.
- Tech
50 years ago, genes eluded electron microscopes
In the 1970s, scientists dreamed of seeing genes under the microscope. Fifty years later, powerful new tools are helping to make that dream come true.
- Neuroscience
Sleep deprivation may make people less generous
Helping each other is inherently human. Yet new research shows that sleep deprivation may dampen people’s desire to donate money.
- Health & Medicine
The new CDC guidelines may make back-to-school harder
The public health agency’s coronavirus advice could change how schools operate and may spur COVID-19 outbreaks in classrooms.
- Anthropology
‘The Five-Million-Year Odyssey’ reveals how migration shaped humankind
A globe-trotting trek through history shows how past population migrations changed the course of human biology and culture.
- Health & Medicine
The first known monkeypox infection in a pet dog hints at spillover risk
A person passed monkeypox to a dog. Other animals might be next, allowing the virus to set up shop outside of Africa for the first time.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 infections can rebound for some people. It’s unclear why
Rebounding COVID-19 isn’t limited to Paxlovid patients. An infection can come back even for people not given the drug.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists hoped freezing donor organs would boost transplants
In the 1970s, biologists hoped to freeze organs so more could last long enough to be transplanted. Scientists are now starting to manage this feat.
- Chemistry
These researchers are unlocking Renaissance beauty secrets
An art historian has teamed up with chemists to uncover the science behind cosmetics used around 500 years ago.
- Humans
Why humans have more voice control than any other primates
Unlike all other studied primates, humans lack vocal membranes. That lets humans produce the sounds that language is built on, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Multiple sclerosis has a common viral culprit, opening doors to new approaches
Learning how the common Epstein-Barr virus may trigger multiple sclerosis could help experts design better treatments — or perhaps end the disease.
- Health & Medicine
A shot of immune proteins may protect against malaria for months
A monoclonal antibody for malaria passed an early hurdle and now will be tested in children in Africa, who are most at risk of dying from the disease.
