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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Paleontology
Could Spinosaurus swim? The fierce dinosaur ignites debate
Researchers are still divided about whether Spinosaurus was a swimmer or a wader. What’s clear is that confirming the first swimming dinosaur would be a game-changer.
- Health & Medicine
A shadowy market for weight-loss drugs has emerged online
People are buying semaglutide and tirzepatide, the key ingredients in Ozempic and Zepbound, from unconventional sources. Doctors have safety concerns.
- Health & Medicine
6 things to know about antidepressants
An abundance of data show that SSRIs, a class of drugs commonly used as antidepressants, are effective, though, like any drug, they have risks.
- Health & Medicine
What experts say about childhood vaccines amid the Texas measles outbreak
As the Texas measles outbreak grows and HHS head RFK Jr. puts vaccines under new scrutiny, two experts answer questions about the public health tool.
- Artificial Intelligence
Are AI chatbot ‘personalities’ in the eye of the beholder?
Defining AI chatbot personality could be based on how a bot “feels” about itself or on how a person feels about the bot they’re interacting with.
- Health & Medicine
Better male birth control is on the horizon
Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?
- Science & Society
Trump orders sow chaos in global public health
A recent flurry of executive orders and surprise actions by the Trump administration have roiled WHO, the CDC and the international public health community.
- Science & Society
What nuclear weapons experts will watch for under Trump
As Trump takes office, issues of arms control, the U.S. arsenal and weapons testing will be on the radar for many nuclear weapons researchers.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
