Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Humans

  1. Archaeology

    Precolonial farmers thrived in one of North America’s coldest places

    Ancestral Menominee people in what’s now Michigan’s Upper Peninsula grew maize and other crops on large tracts of land despite harsh conditions.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    A diet full of tiny plastics triggered health problems in mice

    Mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics developed problems in their guts and livers. It’s not yet clear if humans are similarly affected.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    U.S. moms say their mental health is getting worse

    A national survey finds that mothers of children ages 0 to 17 years report mental health declines from 2016 to 2023.

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  4. Chemistry

    Lotions and perfumes affect the air near our skin

    The personal care products suppress reactions between skin oils and ozone. It's not clear how, or if, this chemistry change might impact human health.

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  5. Anthropology

    Males of this ancient human cousin weren’t always bigger than females

    Molecular evidence from a 2-million-year-old southern African hominid species indicates sex and genetic differences in P. robustus.

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  6. Science & Society

    Students’ mental health imperiled by $1 billion cuts to school funding

    The Trump administration is cutting $1 billion in grants that support student mental health. That has educators worried.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Personalized gene editing saved a baby, but the tech’s future is uncertain

    The personalized CRISPR treatment could be the future of gene therapy, but hurdles remain before everyone has access.

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  8. Anthropology

    Humans used whale bones to make tools 20,000 years ago

    Ancient scavengers of the beached beasts turned their bones into implements that spread across a large area, researchers say.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Wet fingers always wrinkle in the same way

    Pruney fingertips aren't swollen sponges — the wrinkles actually come from blood vessels constricting and pulling skin inward.

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