Humans

  1. Health & Medicine

    Screen time: Most U.S. teens overindulge

    Too many 12- to 15-year olds spend hours each day doing little more than pushing buttons on the TV remote or a computer’s keyboard, a government survey finds.

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  2. Genetics

    High-altitude help from extinct ancestors

    The Tibetan plateau is high in altitude but low in oxygen. An unusual version of one gene in Tibetans' DNA helps them survive this environment. And that gene appears to have been passed along from Denisovans, a Neandertal-like ancestor.

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  3. Brain

    Choosing shocks over contemplation

    Some people think being alone is unpleasant. In one new study, some found choosing to get a painful shock helped them endure being alone for 15 minutes.

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  4. Fossils

    Newly dated footprints: Oldest human tracks?

    These footprints, found nearly a half-century ago, may be almost four times older than first thought, scientists now report.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Young blood: The elixir of youth?

    Old mice show improved memory when blood from young mice circulated through their brains, a new study finds. Other studies suggest one ingredient in that young blood might be all it takes to deliver benefits.

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  6. Microbes

    The war on superbugs

    Doctors and scientists are exploring ways to stem the growing global crisis of antibacterial resistance.

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  7. Microbes

    Explainer: What you can do to fight antibiotic resistance

    Doctors and scientists are not the only people who can help preserve the effectiveness of life-saving antibiotics. Even patients have a role to play, as these tips show.

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  8. Microbes

    The HIV cure — that wasn’t

    Immediate and aggressive drug treatment of a baby born with HIV appeared to have cured the girl. In fact, a follow-up shows, she still has the disease.

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  9. Microbes

    Superbugs: A silent health emergency

    Have antibiotics become too popular? Overusing these medicines fuels resistant germs that pose a global health threat.

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  10. Microbes

    Explainer: Where antibiotics came from

    A mold proved the source of the first known antibiotic: penicillin. But chemical dyes would lead to the first antibiotics used in treating people.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Sunlight makes pleasure chemical in the body

    A day on the beach might deliver more than a tan (or sunburn). It may also release potent brain chemicals that leave people with a pleasurable feeling.

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  12. Archaeology

    Neandertal ancestor?

    Fossils found in a Spanish cave have features that are a combination of Neandertals and other species. The mix suggests Neandertal roots go back even farther than scientists had suspected.

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