Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
MDMA, the key ingredient in Ecstasy, eases symptoms of severe PTSD
By the end of the trial, 67 percent of the participants who took MDMA had improved so much that they no longer qualified as having a PTSD diagnosis.
- Animals
The U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight
After a decade of argument, Oxitec pits genetically modified mosquitoes against Florida’s spreaders of dengue and Zika.
- Psychology
Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits
Getting people to wash their hands is notoriously difficult. Doling out nice soap dispensers and rewards helps people develop the habit.
- Health & Medicine
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions
As U.S. vaccination efforts shift to get shots to the hard-to-reach, we take a look at some big questions about vaccines that still remain.
- Health & Medicine
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine recommended for adolescents by CDC committee
With the vaccine cleared for high schoolers and many middle schoolers, focus now turns to clinical trials testing COVID-19 vaccines in younger kids.
- Health & Medicine
How India’s COVID-19 crisis became the worst in the world
Scientists say a laxed attitude toward masking and social distancing plus the rise of new variants may have fueled India’s coronavirus surge.
- Neuroscience
Mild zaps to the brain can boost a pain-relieving placebo effect
By sending electric current into the brain, scientists can enhance the pain-relieving placebo effect and dampen the pain-inducing nocebo effect.
- Science & Society
How to detect, resist and counter the flood of fake news
Misinformation about health is drowning out the facts and putting us at risk. Researchers are learning why bad information spreads and how to protect yourself.
- Anthropology
A child’s 78,000-year-old grave marks Africa’s oldest known human burial
Cave excavation of a youngster’s grave pushes back the date of the first human burial identified in the continent by at least a few thousand years.
- Health & Medicine
How a small city in Brazil may reveal how fast vaccines can curb COVID-19
Almost all adults in Serrana, Brazil, got COVID-19 shots. That may help answer questions about how well vaccines will work to end the pandemic.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s what breakthrough infections reveal about COVID-19 vaccines
Studies analyzing vaccinated people in the real world show that COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective, but experts are keeping an eye on variants.
- Health & Medicine
Meet three moderators fighting disinformation on Reddit’s largest coronavirus forum
Science News spoke with volunteers about what it takes to correct misinformation online during a pandemic.
