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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Cosmology

    How we might finally find black holes from the cosmic dawn

    After decades of study, scientists sound genuinely optimistic about the possibility of detecting primordial black holes, which might explain dark matter.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    U.S. dementia cases may rise to 1 million per year by 2060 

    Baby Boomers may drive a drastic increase in dementia cases in coming decades, but there are steps people can take to reduce their risk.

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  3. Artificial Intelligence

    Generative AI is an energy hog. Is the tech worth the environmental cost?

    Generative AI and the hype around it has rung in excitement and alarm bells this year. Here’s how to consider climate, energy and AI's intersection.

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  4. Climate

    Satellite space junk might wreak havoc on the stratosphere

    Hundreds of defunct satellites plunge toward Earth every year. Scientists are studying how the chemical stew left in their wake impacts the atmosphere.

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  5. Climate

    Climate change has amped up hurricane wind speeds by 29 kph on average

    Every single Atlantic hurricane in 2024 had wind speeds supercharged by warming seas. One even jumped two categories of intensity.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Drop in vaping drives tobacco product use by U.S. youth to a record low

    The fewest number of U.S. middle and high school students are currently using tobacco products since the National Youth Tobacco Survey began in 1999.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Doula care may lead to fewer C-sections or preterm births

    A new study comparing the health outcomes of Medicaid patients with and without a doula suggests the extra support during pregnancy may be beneficial.

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  8. Science & Society

    Is U.S. democracy in decline? Here’s what the science says

    Political scientists disagree over how to interpret a slight dip in the health of U.S. democracy.

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  9. Climate

    How rapid intensification spawned two monster hurricanes in one week

    New maps of wind impacts beyond Helene’s ‘cone of uncertainty’ track highlight how a hurricane’s power extends far inland.

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  10. Climate

    Earth’s ancient ‘greenhouse’ conditions were hotter than thought

    A timeline of 485 million years of Earth’s surface temperatures shows ancient greenhouse conditions were hotter than scientists thought.

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  11. Animals

    A risk-tolerant immune system may enable house sparrows’ wanderlust

    Birds that are willing to eat seed spiked with chicken poop have higher expression levels of a gut immunity gene, a new study finds.

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  12. Humans

    World record speeds for two Olympics events have fallen over time. We can go faster

    The human body can go faster in the 100-meter dash and the 50-meter freestyle. But to reach full potential, our technique must be perfect.

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