As 2011 approaches, we wish you a year of health and safety! We also want to take this opportunity to thank you for being part of the enterprise that advances science and health. The PRIM&R staff is privileged to support you in that important work, and, toward that end, we are pleased to once again bring you our biweekly ‘Science Times’ synthesis from the New York Times. Have a terrific year!

December 21, 2010

Bones give peek into the lives of Neanderthals: More than 1,800 bone fragments in Spain, and snippets of DNA from the bones, are allowing scientists to see into Neanderthal lifestyles.

In map of brain junction, avenues to answers: A map of brain synapses may help us understand the basis for many diseases.

Five years in, gauging impact of Gates grants: It has been five years since the Gates Foundation began making grants for research on AIDS and malaria, and the Foundation is now deciding which projects will continue to receive that funding.

A doctor’s mammogram mission turns personal: A doctor specializing in breast cancer faces questions as she deals with her own diagnosis.

December 28, 2010

Enlisting the dying for clues to save others: Researchers are examining a new breed of cancer drugs that may help stem tumor growth.

In pursuit of a mind map, slice by slice: With an unusual and unique “contraption,” Harvard researchers are exploring how the mind works.

Managing scientific inquiry in a laboratory the size of the web: Does the act of data gathering on the internet constitute ‘science’?

A writer traces illnesses back to the womb: An author explores the possibility that one can trace serious illnesses back to the time before birth.