Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Merck’s COVID-19 pill may soon be here. How well will it work?
Once hailed as a potential game changer, more complete data now reveal drawbacks of Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir.
- Health & Medicine
What we know and don’t know about the omicron coronavirus variant
The new omicron variant has lots of mutations and sparked a surge of cases in South Africa, but researchers still don’t know a lot about it.
- Anthropology
Ancient footprints suggest a mysterious hominid lived alongside Lucy’s kind
A previously unknown hominid species may have left its marks in muddy ash about 3.66 million years ago in what is now East Africa.
- Anthropology
Ancient giant orangutans evolved smaller bodies surprisingly slowly
Fossil teeth from Chinese caves indicate that a single, ancient orangutan species gradually trimmed down over nearly 2 million years.
- Microbes
A sailor’s story captures the impact of rising serious fungal infections
Fungal infections are hard to diagnose, hard to treat and are on the rise. A young sailor is staying positive to navigate the challenges.
- Physics
New high-speed video reveals the physics of a finger snap
Inspired by the infamous snap of the Avengers rival Thanos, scientists set out to investigate the physics behind finger snapping.
- Health & Medicine
No, COVID-19 vaccines won’t make you infertile
Contrary to misinformation spread by Aaron Rodgers and Nicki Minaj, neither the Pfizer, Moderna nor J&J vaccines cause infertility, data show.
- Anthropology
‘The Dawn of Everything’ rewrites 40,000 years of human history
A new book recasts human social evolution as multiple experiments with freedom and domination that started in the Stone Age.
- Health & Medicine
How to choose a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot
To help you choose between the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 boosters, one reporter looked to the evidence and consulted experts.
- Anthropology
A child’s partial skull adds to the mystery of how Homo naledi treated the dead
The isolated discovery of a Homo naledi child’s skull fragments and teeth plays into idea that small-brained species ritually placed the dead in caves.
- Microbes
Are viruses alive, not alive or something in between? And why does it matter?
The way we talk about viruses can shift scientific research and our understanding of evolution.
- Health & Medicine
What parents need to know about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11
Federal health officials authorized the Pfizer vaccine for this age group on October 29.
