Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Genetics
An Indigenous people in the Philippines have the most Denisovan DNA
Genetic comparisons crown the Indigenous Ayta Magbukon people as having the most DNA, 5 percent, from the mysterious ancient hominids.
- Health & Medicine
Colds and other common respiratory diseases might surge as kids return to school
Recent historically low levels of some respiratory illnesses may lead to outbreaks this fall and winter, creating disruptions as kids return to school.
- Health & Medicine
Ripples in rats’ brains tied to memory may also reduce sugar levels
Brain signals called sharp-wave ripples have an unexpected job: influencing the body’s sugar levels, a study in rats suggests.
- Psychology
Psychology has struggled for a century to make sense of the mind
Research into what makes us tick has been messy and contentious, but has led to intriguing insights.
- Health & Medicine
6 answers to parents’ COVID-19 questions as kids return to school
Universal masking in schools could prevent a bumpy 2021–22 schoolyear and keep kids, many of whom are too young to be vaccinated, safe, experts say.
- Health & Medicine
What kids lost when COVID-19 upended school
Researchers are starting to tally how a year and a half of pandemic has left many children struggling academically and emotionally.
- Health & Medicine
Schools are reopening. COVID-19 is still here. What does that mean for kids?
Children do get COVID-19, and some become very sick and even die. But the disease’s long-term effects on kids remain uncertain.
- Health & Medicine
What science tells us about reducing coronavirus spread from wind instruments
Performers struggled to find evidence that would free them from musical lockdown, so they partnered with researchers to get some answers.
- Health & Medicine
New delta variant studies show the pandemic is far from over
The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering.
- Anthropology
A skeleton from Peru vies for the title of oldest known shark attack victim
The 6,000-year-old remains of a teen with a missing leg and tell-tale bite marks came to light after news of a 3,000-year-old victim in Japan surfaced.
- Health & Medicine
Why the CDC says it’s crucial to start wearing masks indoors again
While unvaccinated people are driving the spread of the coronavirus, vaccinated people infected with the delta variant may also easily transmit it.
- Health & Medicine
Why it’s still so hard to find treatments for early COVID-19
Small studies, unexpected side effects and incomplete information about how drugs work can stymie clinical trials for drugs that can treat COVID-19.
