Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Letters from the August 18, 2007, issue of Science News
Exhaustive analysis I would debate the “1,000 watts or more” value attributed to typical adults during strenuous exercise (“Powering the Revolution: Tiny gadgets pick up energy for free,” SN: 6/2/07, p. 344). Hiking up steep slopes, I rarely exceed 250 W myself, and typical hikers are going much slower. The 1,000-watt figure can only apply […]
- Humans
From the August 7, 1937, issue
Ancient gold and ivory treasures from Palestine arrive in Chicago, searching for Ice Age Americans in New Jersey, and a sampling of airborne microorganisms lost with the disappearance of Amelia Earhart's plane.
- Health & Medicine
Nerve Link: Alzheimer’s suspect shows up in glaucoma
Amyloid-beta, the protein fragment implicated in Alzheimer's disease, may also play a role in glaucoma.
- Health & Medicine
Skeletal Discovery: Bone cells affect metabolism
A protein made by bone cells has a surprising influence on energy metabolism, and could have a role in treating diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Serotonin lower in shift workers
Workers who rotate between day and night shifts have less of the brain chemical serotonin than day shift workers do.
- Health & Medicine
CT heart scans: Risk climbs as age at screening falls
CT scans are increasingly used to investigate heart blockages, but their X rays can increase cancer risk.
- Health & Medicine
Taking a Jab at Cancer
Vaccines that train a person's immune system to kill cancerous cells, when combined with drugs that block tumor defense mechanisms, are starting to show promise.
- Humans
Letters from the August 11, 2007, issue of Science News
Sum kids While testing was done on 5- or 6-year-old children (“Take a Number: Kids show math insights without instruction,” SN: 6/2/07, p. 341), it would be interesting to see if this intuitive skill persists after these students are exposed to standard mathematical instruction in the higher grades. I suspect that the answer will be […]
- Humans
From the July 31, 1937, issue
Giant dragonflies from the Carboniferous period, a dust cloud obscuring stars near the sky's north pole, and a list of 13 inventions predicted to have great social significance.
- Health & Medicine
New Clues: Gene variations may contribute to MS risk
Variants of two genes encoding immune system proteins may confer a higher risk for multiple sclerosis.
- Health & Medicine
Waking Up: Brain stimulator spurs dramatic improvement years after injury
A man who spent 6 years in a minimally conscious state regained the ability to talk, eat, and move after doctors implanted electrodes deep in his brain.
- Humans
More math helps young scientists
Taking more math in high school improves students' college grades in physics, chemistry, and biology.
