Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have found important structural similarities between SARS-CoV-2 and a pangolin coronavirus, suggesting that a pangolin coronavirus could infect humans. While SARS-CoV-2 is thought to have evolved from a bat coronavirus, its exact evolutionary path is still a mystery. Uncovering its history is challenging as there are likely many undiscovered […]
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Humans are born with brains ‘prewired’ to see words
Humans are born with a part of the brain that is prewired to be receptive to seeing words and letters, setting the stage at birth for people to learn how to read, a new study suggests. Analyzing brain scans of newborns, researchers found that this part of the brain—called the ‘visual word form area’ (VWFA) […]
Human Body-on-Chip platform enables in vitro prediction of drug behaviors in humans
Drug development is an extremely arduous and costly process, and failure rates in clinical trials that test new drugs for their safety and efficacy in humans remain very high. According to current estimates, only 13.8% of all tested drugs demonstrate ultimate clinical success and obtain approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are […]
China says virus spreading between humans as WHO set to meet
China has confirmed human-to-human transmission in the outbreak of a new SARS-like virus as the number of cases soared and authorities Tuesday said a fourth person had died. The news came as the World Health Organization said it would consider declaring an international public health emergency over the outbreak. The coronavirus, which has spread to […]
Heart attacks in humans are the price of evolution
Heart attacks in humans are the price of evolution: Scientists blame genetic mutation that occurred three million years ago on soaring rates Humans are only animals to have heart attacks due to plaque in the arteries Mutation in the gene CMAH has left us unable to produce the molecule Neu5Gc ‘Knocking out’ CMAH in mice caused their arteries […]
What we risk as humans if we allow gene-edited babies
A second woman is said to be pregnant with a gene-edited baby in China, according to reports this year. It follows revelations last November that gene-edited twins had been born, which caused much debate. One of the fears expressed by scientists is that gene editing may result in unwanted side effects. But beyond the health […]
Can dogs smell cancer in humans? Research and diagnosis
Humans have put dogs’ remarkable sense of smell to use by training them to sniff out explosives and narcotics. Their powerful noses can also detect viruses, bacteria, and signs of cancer in a person’s body or bodily fluids. In this article, we look at the evidence behind dogs’ abilities to smell and identify different types […]
Emotions: how humans regulate them and why some people can’t
Consider the following scenario: You are nearing the end of a busy day at work, when a comment from your boss diminishes what’s left of your dwindling patience. You turn, red-faced, towards the source of your indignation. It is then that you stop, reflect, and choose not to voice your displeasure. After all, the shift […]
Study suggests mice and rats, like humans, make poor choices based on ‘sunk costs’
A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has found that mice and rats, like humans, tend to make poor decisions based on “sunk costs.” In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their study and what they found. Sarah Brosnan with Georgia State University offers a Perspective piece on the […]
‘Music of speech’ linked to brain area unique to humans
We humans are the only primates that can flexibly control the pitch of our voices. This melodic control is not just important for our singing abilities: Fluctuating pitch also conveys critical information during speech—including the speaker’s mood, words of emphasis, or whether a sentence is a statement or a question. Some tonal languages, like Mandarin […]