Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    Two of four Ebola treatments prove highly effective in a clinical trial

    An Ebola field trial is shifting its focus toward two treatments that have been shown to be highly effective at preventing death in Congo, according to preliminary data.

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  2. Humans

    Even without concussions, just one football season may damage players’ brains

    A group of college football players underwent brain scans after a season of play. The results suggest the sport could impact neural signaling.

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  3. Humans

    Are researchers asking the right questions to prevent mass shootings?

    Understanding how to thwart these violent events may be more effective than analyzing perpetrators’ backgrounds.

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  4. Life

    Why people with celiac disease suffer so soon after eating gluten

    In people with celiac disease, some T cells release immune chemicals within hours of encountering gluten, triggering the fast onset of symptoms.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    How pieces of live human brain are helping scientists map nerve cells

    Experiments on live nerve cells — donated from patients undergoing brain surgery — may turn up clues about how the human brain works.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Racist words and acts, like the El Paso shooting, harm children’s health

    Racism can take a lifelong toll on children’s and adolescents’ health. U.S. pediatricians are tackling the problem.

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  7. Anthropology

    Ancient Maya warfare flared up surprisingly early

    Extreme conflicts broke out well before the decline of the Maya civilization, researchers say.

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  8. Archaeology

    Satellites are transforming how archaeologists study the past

    In ‘Archaeology from Space,’ Sarah Parcak takes readers on a lively tour of the past, and archaeology of the 21st century.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Hospitalizations highlight potential dangers of e-cigs to teens’ lungs

    E-cigarette use can harm the lungs, and eight Wisconsin teens who developed severe lung injuries after vaping may be the latest victims.

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  10. Life

    Monkeys can use basic logic to decipher the order of items in a list

    Rhesus macaque monkeys don’t need rewards to learn and remember how items are ranked in a list, a mental feat that may prove handy in the wild.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    A new study challenges the idea that the placenta has a microbiome

    A large study of more than 500 women finds little evidence of microbes in the placenta, contrary to previous reports on the placental microbiome.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Positive attitudes about aging may pay off in better health

    Research into the mind-body connection shows that attitude is everything when it comes to healthy aging.

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