Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    NASA’s Twins Study reveals effects of space on Scott Kelly’s health

    Ten research groups studying the twin astronauts found long-term spaceflight can alter a person’s physiology and gene activity.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Ketamine cultivates new nerve cell connections in mice

    In mice, ketamine prods nerve cells to connect, which may explain the hallucinogenic drug’s ability to ease depression.

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  3. Anthropology

    A new hominid species has been found in a Philippine cave, fossils suggest

    Cave fossils found in the Philippines come from a newly discovered member of the human lineage, researchers say.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Chickens stand sentinel against mosquito-borne disease in Florida

    To learn where mosquitoes are transmitting certain viruses, Florida officials deploy chickens and test them for antibodies to the pathogens.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    A common food additive may make the flu vaccine less effective

    A food preservative may impair the ability to fight the flu, a study in mice suggests.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    When an older person’s brain waves are in sync, memory is boosted

    A brain stimulation treatment that nudges older people’s brain waves into sync could lead to noninvasive therapies for dementia and other disorders.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Readers seek answers to stories about shingles, Neandertal spears and more

    Readers had questions about Neandertal spears, Earth’s inner core and more.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Testing mosquito pee could help track the spread of diseases

    A new way to monitor the viruses that wild mosquitoes are spreading passes its first outdoor test.

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  9. Psychology

    What we know and don’t know about how mass trauma affects mental health

    Three people connected to mass shootings have recently killed themselves. Here’s what we know, and don’t, about the lingering effects of mass trauma.

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  10. Anthropology

    Foreigners may have conquered ancient Egypt without invading it

    Dental evidence suggests female Hyksos immigrants married into power.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Pumping may be linked to an altered microbial mix in breast milk

    Beneficial bacteria are more abundant in the milk of mothers whose babies feed straight from the breast.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    In ‘The Perfect Predator,’ viruses vanquish a deadly superbug

    In ‘The Perfect Predator,’ an epidemiologist recounts the battle to save her husband from an antibiotic-resistant infection.

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