Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

Indigenous groups in the Amazon evolved resistance to deadly Chagas

Humans have evolved to have some remarkable superpowers. People can thrive at high altitudes, dive for long periods underwater, and even tolerate a glass of lactose-rich milk well into adulthood. Now, a new study of Indigenous peoples from the Amazon…

Do no unconscious harm

A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 379, Issue 6635. Before being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease several years ago, Linda Chastine says she was skinny. But the lifesaving steroid treatment for her condition made the Seattle…

Human geneticists apologize for past involvement in eugenics, scientific racism

The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) apologized today for the participation of some of its early leaders in the eugenics movement, as well as the group’s failure to acknowledge and oppose other past harms and injustices in the field of…

Some dinos may have been as brainy as modern primates, controversial study argues

Was Tyrannosaurus rex as smart as a baboon? Scientists don’t like to compare intelligence between species (everyone has their own talents, after all), but a controversial new study suggests some dino brains were as densely packed with neurons as…

Maya calendar may be more than 3000 years old, laser mapping reveals

In the western, volcano-ringed highlands of Guatemala, Willy Barreno Minera keeps watch over the skies. As an ajq’ij, a daykeeper and spiritual guide, the stars and landscape help him keep track of the 260-day calendar that has ruled the life of his…

¿Por qué es tan difícil para los periodistas extranjeros entrar a los medios de comunicación estadounidenses y europeos?

Este artículo se publicó originalmente en inglés en The Open Notebook el 29 de agosto de 2017, y fue traducido por Inés Gutiérrez Jaber y editado por Rodrigo Pérez Ortega. Algunas de las historias científicas más importantes, desde el cambio…

Violent conflict in Myanmar linked to boom in fossil amber research, study claims

A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 378, Issue 6615. For the past decade, paleontologists have increasingly been using a unique window to peer into the past: amber—blobs of hardened tree resin—that preserves in exquisite detail insects,…

Medical, scientific racism revealed in century-old plaque from Black man’s teeth

A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 378, Issue 6619. In the 1930s, a 23-year-old Black man was admitted to City Hospital #2 in St. Louis and, according to his death certificate, died of pneumonia shortly after. Without his consent—or his…

We evolved to grow in the womb rapidly—even before we were human

The ancestors of modern humans evolved to grow quickly in the womb, according to a new study. It’s hard to find evidence of pregnancy in fossils, so researchers turned to a mathematical model. They inferred the growth rate in the womb across primates…

Cancer treatment predictor may not work in patients with African and Asian ancestries

A genetic signature widely used to guide cancer treatments may not work for patients with African and Asian ancestries, according to a new study. The finding could mean people with these backgrounds are receiving an expensive therapy that won’t help…

Discrimination causes nearly instantaneous spikes in stress hormones

There’s clear evidence that racial discrimination negatively affects the health of people of color over the course of their lives. It’s associated with depression, anxiety, and psychological stress; it increases blood pressure; and it has been shown…

‘Breakthrough’ finding shows how modern humans grow more brain cells than Neanderthals

We humans are proud of our big brains, which are responsible for our ability to plan ahead, communicate, and create. Inside our skulls, we pack, on average, 86 billion neurons—up to three times more than those of our primate cousins. For years,…

Chilean voters resoundingly reject a new ‘ecological’ constitution

To the dismay of many scientists in Chile, voters resoundingly rejected a draft constitution that would have had major impacts on research, environmental policies, and Indigenous rights. Sixty-two percent of voters said “no” during a referendum…

Half of Americans anticipate a U.S. civil war soon, survey finds

Violence can seem to be everywhere in the United States, and political violence is in the spotlight, with the 6 January 2021 insurrection as exhibit A. Now, a large study confirms one in five Americans believes violence motivated by political reasons…

Rare dinosaur heads home as Germany agrees to return Brazilian fossil

More than a decade ago, a 110-million-year-old dinosaur fossil was taken from its resting place in the Araripe Basin in Brazil under murky circumstances. Eventually, it landed in the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe (SMNK) in Germany—without…

Unconscious bias against Black and women physicians could undermine treatment

Your unconscious biases might be affecting your health care, at least if you’re white. In a new study, health care providers gave nearly 200 white participants an allergen that caused their skin to swell. They then applied a placebo cream (unscented…

Extreme temperatures in major Latin American cities could be linked to nearly 1 million deaths

In mid-January, the southern tip of South America suffered its worst heat wave in years. In Argentina, temperatures in more than 50 cities rose above 40°C, more than 10°C warmer than the typical average temperature in cities such as Buenos Aires. The…

To capture racism’s impact on health, one epidemiologist suggests going beyond conventional methods

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many vulnerabilities in health care, including how structural racism created the pandemic’s outsize impact on marginalized groups. Age-adjusted infection, hospitalization, and death rates for people of color in the…

‘Racially biased’ devices caused delayed treatment for Black COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 treatment for Black patients was delayed because of inaccurate blood oxygen measurements from “racially biased” medical instruments, STAT reports. Pulse oximeters, which indirectly measure oxygen saturation levels using light that passes…

Peruvian scientist accused of sexual harassment wins defamation judgment

A judge in Peru ruled against archaeologist Marcela Poirier on 23 May in a defamation lawsuit brought by Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, a prominent Peruvian archaeologist she accused of sexual harassment. Poirier, a manager of cultural and educational…