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The legacy of our ancient human relative , " brain - eating - amoeba " infections , emerge viral threats , the hope and peril of genome editing , and much , much more — in 2024 , Live Science covered a plethora of gripping , and occasionally concerning , health study . enquiry concede Modern sixth sense into the human physical structure ’s privileged workings , the germs that can push our physiology off the rail , and the emerging technologies and drug that could exchange medical specialty as we recognize it .
Here are some of my favorite stories from the past yr . Keep up with us in 2025 to see how these divers lines of research progress !
Our standout health stories from 2024 covered amoebas, viruses, bacteria, genetics, and more.
Bird flu
H5N1 , a subtype ofbird influenza , reach out the U.S. in late 2021 , when it begin inflecting violent birds , domestic poultryand the casual mammal . This year , we learned for the first time that the viruscan infect cows — and that it canjump from cows to people . At this detail , there ’s been no grounds of H5N1 propagate from one individual to another — an ability that could set the stage for a major outbreak , or even apandemic . But Live Science has closely followed raw discoveries about the virus : how itlingers inraw milk , isevolving to betterinfect mammals , could become deadlier ifit mingles with seasonal flu , and is just one mutation away from beinga " just mates " for humans . We ’ll keep up with H5N1 in 2025 , when mounting surveillance efforts by scientists should give a better sentiency of how big this problem could become .
Related:9 of the most ' genetically isolated ' human population in the world
Our ancient ancestry
mod humankind mated with Neanderthals at several points in our chronicle , and today , you’re able to dust for genetic " fingerprints " left by our Neanderthalian relative . Some regions of the human genome contain up to 80 % Neanderthalian gene , while others , such as the X andY chromosome , are nearly or completely Neandertal - destitute . These genes influenceour face shape , skin color , circadian clock and immune function — and , in some contexts , they may do more injury than good . In an intriguing feature story , stave writerEmily Cookeexplores the style our Neanderthal genes may sham our health and biology today .
Battling brain-eaters
" Brain - eating " amoebas stamp out virtually everyone they infect , but new and emerging treatments could alter that . A drug called miltefosine — in the beginning designed to plow the parasitic disease leishmaniosis — has saved some patient ' lives . And scientist are inquire other possible treatments , include antibiotics , mRNA vaccines and even a pigment gain from algae . Hopefully , someday , these rarified infections wo n’t be a nearly assured death condemnation .
CRISPR
Scientistsunveiled a newfangled CRISPR systemthatreversibly " pauses " genes , rather than for good disabling them . CRISPR trailblazer Virginijus Šikšnys speak with Live Science about the future of the force field and how the applied science couldrender incurable diseases curable . On the impudent side , doctor and scientific discipline communicator Dr. Neal Baer discourse how , in the wrong hands and without enough regulation , CRISPR could also become an instrument of eugenics .
Honorable mentions
— This is what it ’s like to treat a ' mastermind - feeding ' ameba infection
— How to avoid bird flu
— Who were the Neanderthals , our out human relatives ?
To stop antibiotic drug from becoming obsolete , research worker are try waysto rearward antibiotic underground . Researchersdiscovered a new hormonethat help build strong bones , particularly after pregnancy . A report highlighted how a quirk inforensic desoxyribonucleic acid psychoanalysis could stop up linkingthe ill-timed the great unwashed to crimes . Psychedelics are being tested as therapies , butmajor trial event are hindering their approval . The manlike endocrine cycle is link tobrain shrinkage over the course of the day , while gestation is tied to brain shrinking across pregnancy . Several studiesfound that human agingmight encounter in distinct waves — but we ’re not certain why .
People on Ozempic jump dislike gist and fried foods . We ’re starting to learn why .
Whooping coughing is tide . Here ’s what you may do to protect yourself .
The unremitting surveillance of New life could worsen our encephalon subprogram in slipway we do n’t to the full realize , interrupt studies suggest
