Humans
- Anthropology
Scripted Stone: Ancient block may bear Americas’ oldest writing
A slab of stone found by road builders in southern Mexico may contain the oldest known writing in the Americas, although some scientists regard the nearly 3,000-year-old inscriptions cautiously.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Weapon against MS: Transplant drug limits nerve damage
An immune-suppressing drug called fingolimod slows multiple sclerosis relapses in patients.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Undergrad science and engineering are broadly useful
Although they aren’t researchers, the majority of people who earned bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering at least 10 years ago find their knowledge of those fields useful in their current workplaces. The findings, which come from an analysis of three national databases of college graduates, were reported in August by Mark C. Regets of […]
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Women: Where are your patents?
Business-school researchers find a big gender gap among academic life scientists in patenting rates.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Forewarning of preeclampsia
Scientists have found an early warning sign of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication marked by high blood pressure. Pregnant women with too much of a protein called soluble endoglin in their blood have a heightened risk of preeclampsia, the researchers say. Endoglin normally sits on the surface of blood vessels, where it plays a role in […]
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Pick Your Antipoison
New research may soon make treating venomous bites and stings less expensive, less risky, and more effective.
- Humans
Letters from the September 16, 2006, issue of Science News
Hot topic It seems more likely that a decline of total precipitation and humidity would be the direct cause of both temperature and fire incidence (“The Long Burn: Warming drove recent upswing in wildfires,” SN: 7/8/06, p. 19). It is fashionable to blame every weather problem on greenhouse gases and global warming, but in this […]
By Science News - Health & Medicine
A New Bible for Eating Well
The Institute of Medicine has just summarized in a new book 5,000 pages of comprehensive nutrition guidelines issued over the past decade.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
From the September 5, 1936, issue
A field divided, hope for mine workers exposed to silica dust, and taking the brain's temperature.
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Problem Paternity: Older men seem more apt to have autistic kids
Children born to fathers who are age 40 or older have an increased risk of developing autism.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Letters from the September 9, 2006, issue of Science News
Brother bother If having biological older brothers correlates to homosexuality (“Gay Males’ Sibling Link: Men’s homosexuality tied to having older brothers,” SN: 7/1/06, p. 3), then we would expect that in the past, when families were larger, there would be a greater proportion of homosexuals. Is there any evidence for this? Rick NorwoodMountain Home, Tenn. […]
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Herpes simplex viruses dip in prevalence
Two viruses that cause genital herpes decreased in prevalence in the United States during the past 2 decades.
By Ben Harder