Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death
The bones of more than 100 cadavers are shedding light on a more precise and reliable way to determine when someone died.
- Humans
50 years ago, freezing sperm faced scientific skepticism
In 1972, scientists debated the long-term viability of frozen sperm. Fifty years later, children have been conceived with sperm frozen for decades.
- Microbes
A chain mail–like armor may shield C. difficile from some antibiotics
Examining the structures that protect Clostridioides difficile from medicines could help researchers find new ways to target and kill the bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
More than 5 million children have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19
The number of children who experienced the death of a parent or caregiver due to COVID-19 nearly doubled from May through October in 2021.
- Health & Medicine
The COVID-19 pandemic is not an on-off switch
The pandemic is more of a dimmer switch, and it will be a slow slide to the endemic phase, says epidemiologist Aubree Gordon.
- Genetics
Africa’s oldest human DNA helps unveil an ancient population shift
Long-distance mate seekers started staying closer to home about 20,000 years ago.
- Archaeology
The world’s oldest pants stitched together cultures from across Asia
A re-creation of a 3,000-year-old horseman’s trousers helped scientists unravel its complex origins.
- Health & Medicine
An anime convention in November was not an omicron superspreader event
Vaccines, ventilation and other safety measures probably prevented the variant’s spread at Anime NYC, reports suggest.
- Archaeology
A technique borrowed from ecology hints at hundreds of lost medieval legends
An ecology-based statistical approach may provide a storybook ending for efforts to gauge ancient cultural diversity.
- Science & Society
Nudge theory’s popularity may block insights into improving society
Small interventions that influence people’s behavior can be tested. But the real world requires big, hard-to-measure changes too, scientists say.
- Health & Medicine
Chewing sugar-free gum reduced preterm births in a large study
Among 10,000 women in Malawi, those who chewed xylitol gum daily had fewer preterm births compared with women who didn’t chew the gum.
- Genetics
Gene therapies for sickle cell disease come with hope and challenges
Pediatrician Erica Esrick discusses existing sickle cell treatments and an ongoing clinical trial.
