Breast milk’s benefits are not limited to babies
Some of its myriad components are being tested as treatments for cancer and other diseases
IN A TALK she gave in 2016, Katie Hinde, a biologist from Arizona State University, lamented how little scientific attention was commanded by breast milk. Up until that point, she said, both wine and tomatoes had been far more heavily studied. Eight years on, alas, that remains true.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Liquid gold”
More from Science & technology
A sophisticated civilisation once flourished in the Amazon basin
How the Casarabe died out remains a mystery
Heritable Agriculture, a Google spinout, is bringing AI to crop breeding
By reducing the cost of breeding, the firm hopes to improve yields and other properties for an array of important crops
Could supersonic air travel make a comeback?
Boom Supersonic’s demonstrator jet exceeds Mach 1
Should you worry about microplastics?
Little is known about the effects on humans—but limiting exposure to them seems prudent
Wasps stole genes from viruses
That probably assisted their evolutionary diversification
America’s departure from the WHO would harm everyone
Whether it is a negotiating ploy remains to be seen