Humans
- Archaeology
Stone Age dentists treated cavities with tar
Is Italy the home of dentistry? That’s where treated tooth decay has been found, dating back 14 millennia. Cavities appear picked clean with sharp tools. Ouch!
- Chemistry
Steady heartbeats may depend on white blood cells
Biologists have just found a new role for germ-fighting white blood cells. In the heart they appear to serve as pacemakers so that the heart beats regularly.
- Health & Medicine
Analyze This: Real data on lead levels in school drinking water
The metallic element lead can be toxic if ingested. To keep students safe, many schools now test their water. Some have found dangerously high levels.
- Psychology
Searching for better, cooler friends might backfire
When people try to find the best possible people to hang out with, they become less happy in life, a new study finds.
- Tech
Star Trek gets closer to becoming home tech
Inspired by Star Trek, inventors have created handheld devices to diagnose common medical ailments.
- Chemistry
Scientists know that you pee in the pool
A new way to find urine in pools and hot tubs measures the concentration of an artificial sweetener in the water.
- Health & Medicine
Ötzi the mummified Iceman actually froze to death
Ötzi the Iceman, a mummy whose icy 5,300-year-old remains turned up in the Alps in 1991, died of the cold — not murder. That’s the result of new forensic analyses.
- Health & Medicine
Concerns explode over new health risks of vaping
A host of brand new studies unearth worrisome health concerns related to teen vaping.
- Health & Medicine
Just viewing super-size meals can promote overeating
Large portions of food dampen activity in a brain area involved in self-control, a new study shows.
- Brain
Food smells better to sleepyheads
People who want to resist junk foods or overeating may want to make sure they get a good night’s rest. Being tired makes the scent of foods more appealing, a new study finds.
- Psychology
Noticing mistakes boosts learning
People who pay attention to their mistakes are more likely to do better the next time, data show.
- Brain
Among mice, scratching is catching — as in contagious
Contagious itching spreads by sight, mouse-to-mouse. Scientists have now identified brain structures behind this phenomenon.
