Feature
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Health & MedicineUltrasound aimed at the brain offers new hope for Parkinson’s patients
A noninvasive treatment called high-intensity focused ultrasound helped relieve the shaking, stiffness and pain that accompany Parkinson’s disease.
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Health & MedicineNew tools may help diagnose Parkinson’s earlier than ever
From special pens to earwax evaluations, a plethora of emerging diagnostics could one day be a major boon for people with the debilitating disease.
By Meghan Rosen -
Health & MedicineWhat freediving can reveal about human health — and our limits
The practice of freediving is teaching physiologists how humans stretch their physical and mental limits, which in turn may improve treatments for lung and heart ailments.
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Health & MedicineA low-cost rotavirus test could save childrens’ lives in Nigeria
Nigerian virologist Margaret Oluwatoyin Japhet has designed a rapid test that could diagnose rotavirus at a child’s bedside.
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AnthropologyHow to invent a realistic language for fictional speakers
Linguists can mix, match or even break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting imaginary ones.
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MathMath long resisted a digital disruption. AI is poised to change that
The painstaking process of formalization to verify proofs is starting to surge thanks to AI. That could radically change the way people do math.
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LifeSmithsonian secrets most likely to blow your mind
Millions of objects stashed at a site open only to select visitors tell the history of Earth's inhabitants.
By Meghan Rosen and Stephen Voss -
MicrobesHow warming is shifting microbial worlds
Climate change is affecting microbes, and that has implications for all life on Earth.
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AnimalsWild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
By Freda Kreier - Artificial Intelligence
Have we entered a new age of AI-enabled scientific discovery?
Some say we’ve entered a new age of AI-enabled scientific discovery. But human insight and creativity still can’t be automated.
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PhysicsThe only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise
The famed collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory has ended operations, but if all goes to plan, a new collider will rise from its ashes.
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Health & MedicineTear gas and pepper spray can have lasting health effects
The chemicals are widely used for crowd control, but their long-term health risks are poorly understood.
By Nikk Ogasa