Humans

From Naked Mole Rats To Dog Testicles: A Writer Explores The Longevity Quest

4:03pm February 27, 2015

"Nature knows how to let animals live a very long time," says Bill Gifford, whose latest book is Spring Chicken, a look at the history of anti-aging schemes and current ways people try to live longer.

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A field of unharvested wheat is seen in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England, in 2012. Wheat wasn't cultivated in Britain until some 6,000 years ago, but DNA evidence suggests early Britons were eating the grain at least 8,000 years ago.

Stone Age Britons Were Eating Wheat 2,000 Years Before They Farmed It

10:45am February 27, 2015

by Chris Joyce

Scientists have recovered cultivated wheat DNA from an 8,000-year-old submerged site off the British coast. The finding suggests hunter-gatherers were trading for the grain long before they grew it.

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With the technology to conduct more nuanced tests, some companies say they can provide more useful detail about how people think in dynamic situations.

Recruiting Better Talent With Brain Games And Big Data

1:50pm February 26, 2015

by Yuki Noguchi

Some companies are using surveys or brain games to assess what kind of workers candidates are. Employers say the tests can help reduce turnover and surface talent recruiters might otherwise overlook.

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Ultrasound is often used for prenatal screening. It's just one of several prenatal screenings available to pregnant women.

DNA Blood Test Gives Women A New Option For Prenatal Screening

7:30pm February 24, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A simple blood test can analyze bits of fetal DNA leaked in the mother's bloodstream. It's less risky than invasive alternatives like amniocentesis, but it doesn't tell as much about fetal health.

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Kids, Allergies And A Possible Downside To Squeaky Clean Dishes

6:45pm February 24, 2015

by Rob Stein

Swedish kids growing up in families that wash their dishes by hand are less likely to develop certain allergies than those in families with dishwashers, a study suggests. But there may be more to it.

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An example of a human precision grip — grasping a first metacarpal from the thumb of a specimen of Australopithecus africanus that's thought to be 2 to 3 million years old.

Maybe Early Humans Weren't The First To Get A Good Grip

1:16pm February 23, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The opposable thumb you use to hold a pencil was long thought to be a defining aspect of humans. But an analysis of finger bones suggests stone tool use by pre-humans — perhaps 3 million years ago.

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A particularly nasty family of gut bacteria with the nickname CRE is resistant even to carbapenems, a family of last-resort antibiotics.

Why California's Superbug Outbreak Isn't As Scary As It Seems

5:49pm February 20, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

The outbreak of drug-thwarting bacteria that contributed to the deaths of two patients at a UCLA hospital isn't likely to spread further, doctors say. Still, drug resistance is trouble nationwide.

Why Is Nearsightedness Skyrocketing Among Chinese Youth?

3:24pm February 20, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

More than 80 percent of high school students in Shanghai are myopic. A new study finds a link between higher income and poor eyesight. But the root cause is still hotly debated.

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The human version of a DNA sequence called HARE5 (inserted into this mouse embryo) turned on a gene that's important for brain development. (Gene activity is stained blue.) By the end of gestation, the embryo's brain was 12 percent larger than the brain o

Just A Bit Of DNA Helps Explain Humans' Big Brains

1:57pm February 20, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have found some human DNA that, when added to mice, makes their brains bigger. But as DNA research into human brains goes forward, are there ethical lines we shouldn't cross?

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Pain Really Is All In Your Head And Emotion Controls Intensity

2:57pm February 19, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Humiliation, fear and unpredictability all turn up the volume on pain, research shows. And meditation can turn down pain's intensity, according to scientists who are starting to figure out why.

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