Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Humans

    Alcohol-producing bacteria could cause liver disease in some people

    A majority of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease also had gut bacteria churning out medium to high levels of ethanol.

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  2. Humans

    Ancient DNA reveals the first glimpse of what a Denisovan may have looked like

    A controversial technique reconstructs a teenage Denisovan’s physical appearance from genetics.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    1 in 4 U.S. high school seniors has vaped recently — up 4.5 percentage points from 2018

    A 2019 survey finds the number of high school and middle school students who report using e-cigarettes recently continues to grow.

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  4. Humans

    Babies born by C-section have more potentially infectious bacteria in their guts

    Microbial mixes in babies’ guts differ depending on birth method.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Mucus prevents hand sanitizers from quickly killing the flu

    Flu viruses can hold out for minutes against ethanol when encased in wet mucus.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Air pollution can reach the placenta around a developing baby

    A small study of women living in Belgium found soot embedded in their placental tissue.

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  7. Humans

    An island grave site hints at far-flung ties among ancient Americans

    Great Lakes and southeastern coastal hunter-gatherers had direct contact around 4,000 years ago, a study suggests.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, polio was still circulating in the United States

    The world has never been closer to eradicating polio, but the disease could come roaring back where vaccination is spotty.

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  9. Humans

    Artists who paint with their feet have ‘toe maps’ in their brains

    Brain specialization comes with toe specialization in people who use their feet for painting, eating and writing.

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  10. Humans

    Culture helps shape when babies learn to walk

    The culture in which a baby is raised can accelerate or slow down the development of early motor skills. Does it matter?

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  11. Tech

    A new prosthetic leg that senses touch reduces phantom pain

    A prosthetic leg that can sense foot pressure and knee angle helped two men walk faster and reduced phantom leg pain.

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  12. Humans

    Supercooling tripled the shelf life of donor livers

    Cooling organs to subzero temperatures could help them last longer, making lifesaving transplants available to more people.

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