Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
In a first, a person’s immune system fought HIV — and won
Some rare people may purge most HIV from their bodies, leaving only broken copies of the virus or copies locked in molecular prisons, from which there is no escape.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 plasma treatments may be safe, but we don’t know if they work
Blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors can be used to treat hospitalized patients, FDA says, but researchers question how well it works.
- Health & Medicine
What we can learn from how a doctor’s race can affect Black newborns’ survival
When Black physicians attended Black newborns after a hospital birth, it reduced the mortality gap between Black and white babies.
- Health & Medicine
A man in Hong Kong is the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection
During a 33-year-old man’s first round with the virus, he had symptoms, but not the second time — a hint his immune system protected him from disease.
- Health & Medicine
New treatments aim to treat COVID-19 early, before it gets serious
Some new drugs that may stop the coronavirus from getting into cells, or from reproducing itself, may treat the illness as soon as it’s diagnosed.
- Archaeology
X-rays reveal what ancient animal mummies keep under wraps
A new method of 3-D scanning mummified animals reveals life and death details for a snake, a bird and a cat.
- Humans
Ancient sculptures hint at universal facial expressions across cultures
Interpreting the emotions carved onto sculptures from long ago offers a new way to study how humans perceive facial expressions.
- Health & Medicine
Dust can spread influenza among guinea pigs, raising coronavirus questions
In three out of 12 guinea pig pairs, an animal coated in influenza virus, but immune to infection, spread the virus to another rodent through dust.
- Climate
Hurricanes have names. Some climate experts say heat waves should, too
A newly formed international alliance aims to raise awareness about extreme temperatures and protect vulnerable populations.
- Psychology
Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Even solitary rituals bind us to our groups and help calm anxieties. What happens when those traditions are upended?
- Science & Society
Interfaith soccer teams eased Muslim-Christian tensions — to a point
Soccer bonded Christian and Muslim teammates in Iraq, but that camaraderie didn’t change attitudes.
- Archaeology
The oldest known grass beds from 200,000 years ago included insect repellents
Found in South Africa, 200,000-year-old bedding remnants included fossilized grass, bug-repelling ash and once aromatic camphor leaves.
