Humans

Humans

Report knocks NASA funding

A new National Academy of Sciences study joins the chorus of critics that claim NASA is overextended, sacrificing basic- science research in order to finish building the International Space Station and fund President Bush's plan to return astronauts to the moon.

Health & Medicine

Now Hear This

Genetics research, work with stem cells, and studies of the inner ear's delicate architecture suggest that it might be possible to restore cells pivotal to hearing.

Humans

From the May 9, 1936, issue

A fortress for studying atoms, a new weapon against cancer, and the future of communication.

Humans

Letters from the May 13, 2006, issue of Science News

Now hear this Unless the writer is deliberately implying an archaic theory of evolution in “Can you hear me now? Frogs in roaring streams use ultrasonic calls” (SN: 3/18/06 p. 165), the statement “Ultrasonic perception may have developed as the frogs (Amolops tormotus) struggled to hear each other . . .” cannot be true. That’s […]

Humans

The Mind of Leonardo

This stunning online exhibit from the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy, features the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. Visitors can view some of Leonardo’s famous drawings, read lucid descriptions of his interests and achievements (particularly his studies of motion), learn about the science of painting, and get […]

Anthropology

Cattle’s Call of the Wild: Domestication may hold complex genetic tale

A new investigation of DNA that was obtained from modern cattle and from fossils of their ancient, wild ancestors challenges the idea that herding and farming groups in the Near East domesticated cattle about 11,000 years ago.

Health & Medicine

Sleight of Herb: Black cohosh mislabeled in medicinal products

A sizable fraction of the herbal supplements marketed as preparations of black cohosh contains none of that North American plant.

Humans

Legal Debate: Assumptions on medical malpractice called into question

The notion that many medical-practice lawsuits are frivolous and intended to generate undeserved riches for their plaintiffs and lawyers isn't borne out in a new study.

Anthropology

Making sacrifices in Stone Age societies

A half-dozen burials at sites in Europe and western Asia dating to between 27,000 and 23,000 years ago provide clues to possible human sacrifices.

Anthropology

Digging up debate in a French cave

A scientific debate has broken out over whether a French cave excavated more than 50 years ago contains evidence of separate Stone Age occupations by Neandertals and modern humans.

Anthropology

Neandertals take out their small blades

Excavations of Neandertal artifacts have yielded a trove of thin, double-edged stone blades that researchers usually regard as the work of Stone Age people who lived much later.

Anthropology

Ancient islanders get a leg up

A new analysis of bones from a tiny evolutionary cousin of people found on a Pacific island indicates that these late Stone Age individuals carried a lot of weight on short frames and had extremely strong legs.