A genetic variant that appears to have boosted medieval Europeans’ ability to survive the Black Death centuries ago may contribute — albeit in a small way — to an inflammatory…
Category: Humans
The pandemic shows us how crises derail young adults’ lives for decades
Ninna Ragasa was 24 years old when doctors discovered a mass on the left hemisphere of her brain. Further imaging revealed that Ragasa had an arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of…
A swarm of sneaky omicron variants could cause a COVID-19 surge this fall
Fall and winter have not been kind to us over the last couple of years. In 2020, cases of COVID-19 began to climb in October. And at this time last…
Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands
A ground-penetrating eye in the sky has helped to rehydrate an ancient southern Mesopotamian city, tagging it as what amounted to a Venice of the Fertile Crescent. Identifying the watery…
Cooperative sperm outrun loners in the mating race
Even sperm gotta stick together. Bull sperm swim more effectively when in clusters, a new study shows, potentially offering insight into fertility in humans. In simulated reproductive tracts of animals…
Here’s where jazz gets its swing
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing — all you’ve got to do is stagger your timing. For decades, fans of jazz music have debated why…
Losing amphibians may be tied to spikes in human malaria cases
In the 1990s and 2000s, Costa Rica and Panama experienced spikes in malaria cases. The massive loss of amphibians in the region from a deadly fungal disease may have contributed…
‘Breathless’ explores COVID-19’s origins and other pandemic science
BreathlessDavid QuammenSimon & Schuster, $29.99 When COVID-19 burst onto the global stage in 2020, it was deadly and disruptive. In the first weeks of January, researchers identified the cause: A…
Genetics of human evolution wins 2022 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
Establishing a new field of science to answer the question of what makes humans unique from our extinct relatives has earned Svante Pääbo the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. …
Emily Jacobs wants to know how sex hormones sculpt the brain
When Emily Jacobs embarked on a career studying the brain in the early 2000s, a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, was having a moment. “Just like we…
