Heat-treating tools

Human ancestors used fire to get the best out of stone tools as much as 164 thousand years ago, according to new research published in the journal Science this week. Kyle Brown, from the University of Cape Town, and an international team of colleagues, looked at excavations from multiple sites in S...

Facial Expressions, Lost in Translation

It’s not just the spoken language that can make communication in foreign countries difficult; it seems that easterners and westerners look for different facial cues as well. It’s often assumed that facial expressions form a sort of universal language, but now, Roberto Caldara at The University of G...

Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Like

Capuchin monkeys prefer humans who imitate them over those that do not, according to research published in Science this week. “We often unintentionally imitate the body postures, gestures and mannerisms of our social interaction partners,” according to Annika Paukner from the National Institutes of...

Nanobees Sting Cancer Cells

The venom found in bee stings could be used as targeted therapy against cancer, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. By attaching the venom protein, melittin, to tiny, spherical ‘nano-bees’, and injecting them into mice suffering with cancer, researchers at Washington uni...