Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Archaeology

    How the Dead Sea Scrolls survived a war in the 1960s

    50 years after the Dead Sea Scrolls survived a war, another possible scroll cave offered tantalizing new clues.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    The science behind kids’ belief in Santa

    Children’s belief in Santa is strong — until it isn’t anymore, usually at around age 8.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    The man flu struggle might be real, says one researcher

    A researcher reviews the evidence for gender bias among flu viruses in the BMJ’s lighthearted holiday edition.

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  4. Physics

    These 2017 discoveries could be big news, if they turn out to be true

    Some findings reported in 2017 are potentially big news, if they hold up to additional scientific scrutiny.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    U.S. life expectancy drops for the second year in a row

    Life expectancy for the U.S. population decreased in 2016, the second year in a row this measure has dropped.

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  6. Neuroscience

    Specks in the brain attract Alzheimer’s plaque-forming protein

    Globs of an inflammatory protein can spur the formation of amyloid-beta clumps, a study in mice shows.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Gay, lesbian and bisexual high schoolers report ‘tragically high’ suicide risk

    Teens who identify as sexual minorities are more likely to report suicidal behaviors than their heterosexual peers, a new study finds.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Even brain images can be biased

    Brain scan studies that are drawn from rich and well-educated groups could lead to biased ideas of how our brains develop.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    An abundance of toys can curb kids’ creativity and focus

    Too many toys may lead to more shallow play for toddlers, a new study suggests.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Fracking linked to low birth weight in Pennsylvania babies

    Babies born to moms living within one kilometer of a hydraulic fracturing site were more likely to be born underweight, researchers say.

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  11. Humans

    The story of humans’ origins got a revision in 2017

    Human evolution may have involved the gradual assembly of scattered skeletal traits, fossils of Homo naledi and other species show.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Worries grow that climate change will quietly steal nutrients from major food crops

    Studies show that rice, wheat and other staples could lose proteins and minerals, putting more people at risk of hunger worldwide.

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