Humans

Health & Medicine

MERS virus hits South Korea hard

MERS — a killer viral disease — emerged for the first time only three years ago. That was in the Middle East. Now it has spread to Asia.

Environment

Gulf oil spill: Still poisoning dolphins to crickets

Once the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill ended, oil continued to harm animals in the Gulf of Mexico. Five years later, it still may not be over, biologists worry.

Genetics

Altered gene leaves people totally painfree

That’s not a good thing for these people. Still, it could lead to a new class of drugs to help people who now suffer from chronic pain.

Fossils

Fossil find adds a relative to our family tree

Lucy is the best known of our early ancestors. Now, a new fossil from Ethiopia suggests a second pre-human species lived alongside her kind.

Environment

Vaping may harm the lungs

E-cigarettes are the most widely used tobacco product among U.S. teens. But emerging data suggest vaping can harm the lungs.

Health & Medicine

Catching ZZZs may retrieve lost memories

Forgetful? Maybe you’ve forgotten to get enough shuteye. A study in fruit flies suggests that a good sleep can boost their ability to remember things.

Animals

Pesticides offer bees a risky allure

Honeybees and bumblebees sometimes cannot taste or avoid pesticides called neonicotinoids. And that may expose some of these important pollinators to harm.

Health & Medicine

Teens win big for pollution control and HIV detection

Ah-choo! The 2015 Intel ISEF competition’s top winner designed a way to curb germs on planes. Two other big winners invented ways to detect HIV early and to corral oil spills at sea.

Health & Medicine

Bones: Custom cushioning helps heal a bad break

If the stiff casts encasing broken limbs included an inflatable air bladder instead of a soft lining, costly and painful complications experienced by some patients during healing might be avoided, two teens reported at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.

Brain

Back off, bullies!

Mental health is another reason to stop bullies. Victims of bullying are more likely to develop anxiety problems than are victims of abuse or neglect, a new study finds.

Health & Medicine

Teen researcher eyes peripheral vision

Our peripheral vision helps us work and play. A student scientist studied how the distance between our eyes affects what we can see on the outer edges of our field of view.

Health & Medicine

Do mosquitoes love you? Blame your parents

By studying twins, scientists found that how attractive we are to mosquitoes depends partly on our genes. That could lead to better bug repellents.