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When Charles Darwin published Descent of Man 150 years ago, he launched scientific investigations on human origins and evolution. This week, three leading scientists in different, but related disciplines published "Modern theories of human evolution foreshadowed by Darwin's Descent of Man," in Science, in which they identify three insights from Darwin's opus on human evolution that modern science has reinforced.

Chronic skin itch affects 7% of U.S. adults but until recently neuroscientists considered the mechanisms of skin itch the same. Georgia Tech researchers have uncovered differences in itch on hairy versus non-hairy skin that could lead to more effective treatments for patients with persistent skin itching.

Scientists created clay bricks that are able to attenuate ionizing radiation to a level that is safe for the human body. These bricks can be used to building walls around nuclear facilities. It is cheap and environmentally friendly.

An international study led by the ICTA-UAB states that recognizing indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights and agency is critical to addressing the current biodiversity crisis.

Trinity College Dublin and St James's Hospital, Dublin clinical trials reported efficacy and safety results of upadacitinib compared with placebo for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults and adolescents. This pivotal Global Phase 3 study involved 1,600 patients and took place over a two-year period. Results show the drug to so far be the most effective treatment for atopic dermatitis in clinical trials.

Researchers from the IBMCP (UPV-CSIC) participate in a study that reveals that a system involved in the ageing of the leaves of the tomato plant also regulates the ripening of its fruit. It opens the door to producing tomatoes of a higher commercial and nutritional quality.

Micropollutants such as steroid hormones contaminate drinking water worldwide. Until now, easily scalable water treatment technologies that remove them efficiently and sustainably have been lacking. Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) developed a new chemical process for removing hormones. It takes advantage of the mechanisms of photocatalysis and transforms the pollutants into potentially safe oxidation products. The team reports on this in the scientific journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

University of California, Irvine and UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers tracked medication usage patterns in UC Health medical centers throughout the coronavirus pandemic. In a new study in JAMA Network Open, the investigators show which drugs were widely used and which were not, revealing evidence-based decision making on the part of UC Health clinicians.

A new brain imaging study by Yale scientists shows that infants as young as three months are already enlisting the hippocampus to recognize and learn patterns. The findings were published May 21 in the journal Current Biology.

What The Study Did: This observational study found no association between long-term dietary intake of gluten and cognitive function among a large group of middle-age women without celiac disease.

What The Study Did: Variation in SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and socioeconomic disadvantage among a Mayan-Latinx population in Fruitvale, California, was examined in this study.

What The Study Did: Oregon's Reproductive Health Equity Act ensured coverage for family planning (abortion and contraception) using state funds for all low-income state residents regardless of citizenship status. Researchers in this study describe the first two years of abortion services covered and the distances traveled by women to receive care.

What The Study Did: Medication use among hospitalized patients for COVID-19-related treatment in a large university health care system was examined in this study.

Four years after unveiling a looming sand crisis, scientists focus on sand's sustainability implications and propose solutions to reduce impacts.

Novel brain-translucent techniques coupled with high-resolution imaging microscopy have allowed the 3D reconstruction of oxytocin and vasopressin circuits in the developing mouse brain with unprecedented cellular resolution.

Ending our dependence on coal is essential for effective climate protection. Nevertheless, efforts to phase out coal trigger anxiety and resistance, particularly in mining regions. The governments of both Canada and Germany have involved various stakeholders to develop recommendations aimed at delivering just transitions. In a new study, researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) compare the stakeholder commissions convened by the two countries, drawing on expert interviews with their members, and examine how governments use commissions to legitimize their transition policies.

A new study quantifies the influence of the climate change with its associated rainfall change on railway infrastructures in China.

If you've been to your local beach, you may have noticed the wind tossing around litter such as a plastic straw. Many of these plastics break down into microscopic sizes, making it hard for scientists to quantify and measure them. In a multiorganizational effort led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), researchers have developed a novel method that uses a filter-feeding marine species to collect these tiny plastics from ocean water.

Finnish researchers have been the first to determine the cause for the nonsyndromic early-onset hereditary canine hearing loss in Rottweilers. The gene defect was identified in a gene relevant to the sense of hearing. The study can also promote the understanding of mechanisms of hearing loss in human.

It has previously been reported that human visual system has a temporal limitation in processing visual information when perceiving things that occur less than half a second apart. This temporal deficit is known as "attentional blink" and has been demonstrated in a large number of studies.