The Scientist - Home

A single amino acid substitution in a protein causes increased neuron production in the frontal lobes of humans compared to Neanderthals—a tiny difference that could have given our species a cognitive edge, researchers say.

For the first time, a team visualizes sensory nerves projecting into adipose tissue in mice and finds these neuronal cells may counteract the local effects of the sympathetic nervous system.

The findings likely have implications for animal research far beyond the study of antidepressants.

The group’s 7-2 ruling in favor of the therapeutic represents a shift from previous deliberations, in which data on its effectiveness was deemed insufficient.

A Stone Age individual’s left leg healed after being amputated just above the foot, allowing them to survive for six to nine years after the procedure was performed, researchers say.

Researchers who work with materials such as fetal tissue and human embryonic stem cells are facing new restrictions, the latest in a long line of regulations, that could impede important advances.

Oil on human skin reacts with ozone to produce highly reactive radicals that can generate toxic airborne chemicals in indoor spaces.

Researchers say they've figured out how some reproductive ants live up to 30 years—far longer than workers.

Most animals can’t pass on mutations that arise spontaneously throughout their lives—but Elkhorn corals can.

Researchers combined evidence found in dog genomes with physical materials recovered from archeological sites to discover factors behind major societal changes.

Thirty years out from the start of the Human Genome Project, researchers have finally finished sequencing the full 3 billion bases of a person’s genetic code. But even a complete reference genome has its shortcomings.

Ancient stashes of animal bones, tools, and other artifacts are often dismissed as archaic garbage heaps, but the deposits provide glimpses of the cultural practices and environmental conditions of past Indigenous settlements.