Neuroscience
Yaks may hint at a way to treat brain diseases like MS
A genetic mutation tied to keeping the brain healthy at high altitudes may point to a way to repair nerve damage, experiments in mice show.
By Simon Makin
Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Humans
- Health & Medicine
AI may be giving teens bad nutrition advice
AI-generated meal plans for fictional teens cut an entire meal’s worth of calories and carbs while overemphasizing protein and fats, a new study reports.
- Health & Medicine
‘Smart underwear’ measures how often humans fart
“Zen digesters” rarely fart. “Hydrogen hyperproducers” fart a lot. Scientists are investigating what is typical.
- Health & Medicine
How does early pregnancy lower breast cancer risk? Odd cells could offer clues
Suspicious cells build up in mice that haven’t given birth, a new study finds. They could help explain a longstanding mystery of breast cancer biology.
- Neuroscience
The right sounds may turn sleep into a problem-solving tool
Lucid dreamers who heard puzzle-linked soundtracks while sleeping were more likely to solve those unsolved problems the next day.
- Health & Medicine
Over 40? Your rotator cuff probably looks a little rough
MRI scans of over 600 Finnish adults found that nearly all had frayed, torn or otherwise abnormal rotator cuffs — yet most had no symptoms.
- Health & Medicine
Simulations of your gut may predict which probiotics will stick
A “digital gut” predicted which probiotics and high‑fiber diets would take hold in people's guts and produce healthier outcomes.
- Health & Medicine
A rising percentage of U.S. teens aren’t getting enough sleep
Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. A large majority get less than that, according to a national survey of U.S. high school students.
- Anthropology
The ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ gets a new face
A new digital reconstruction of the face of an early Australopithecus specimen helps add details about the origins of our own species.
- Neuroscience
Why is math harder for some kids? Brain scans offer clues
Kids with math learning disabilities process number symbols differently than quantities shown as dots — and it shows up in MRIs.
