Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Distracted? Tea might help your focus
An amino acid in tea combines with the brew's caffeine to enliven brain cells that aid concentration.
- Health & Medicine
Tea compound aids dying brain cells
A constituent of green tea rescues brain cells damaged in a way that mimics the effect of Parkinson's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Malaria’s sweet spot
The malaria parasite's reliance on a sugar in the gut of mosquitoes may offer a way to block the disease's transmission.
- Health & Medicine
Exhaust fumes might threaten people’s hearts
Nanoparticles in diesel fumes thwart proteins that dissolve blood clots, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks.
- Humans
Letters from the September 29, 2007, issue of Science News
Questioning the surge “The Power of Induction” (SN: 7/21/07, p. 40) was written as if this was a newly discovered technology. I have been using an electric shaver with induction recharging for years. Mike YorkPhoenix, Ariz. The ability to project electrical power some distance suggests a possible method to detonate or disable improvised explosive devices. […]
- Health & Medicine
Fattening Carbs—Some Promote Obesity and Worse
Easily digestible carbohydrates induce obesity and liver disease in a test on rodents.
- Humans
From the September 18, 1937, issue
Wiping out insects not a good idea, a novel compound for preventing deadly blood clots, and firecrackers making fireflies flash faster.
- Health & Medicine
The Breast Solution
Reversing earlier advice, health authorities now say that babies of HIV-positive mothers in poor countries have a better chance of avoiding infection if they feed only on breast milk that's not supplemented with other food.
- Anthropology
Walking Small: Humanlike legs took Homo out of Africa
Newly discovered fossils, 1.77 million years old, show that the earliest known human ancestors to leave Africa for Asia possessed humanlike legs, feet, and spines, but strikingly small brains and primitive arms.
- Humans
Letters from the September 22, 2007, issue of Science News
Personnel question In “E-Waste Hazards: Chinese gear recyclers absorb toxic chemicals” (SN: 7/14/07, p. 20), researchers found “astronomical concentrations” of deca-BDE in the residents of Guiyu, and the article cites studies showing that related PBDEs harm brain development in mice and rats. So, has any actual increase in brain-development problems been found in people in […]
- Health & Medicine
Warming to a Cold War Herb
Benefiting from decades of research that took place behind the Iron Curtain, Western physicians are discovering Rhodiola rosea, a cold-weather herb that purportedly fights fatigue and boosts energy.
- Humans
From the September 11, 1937, issue
A sad story of feathered romance, observation of the 16th supernova in recorded history, and an underwater earthquake down under.
