Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Step away from the cookie dough. E. coli outbreaks traced to raw flour
Flour, though low in moisture, can sicken people with E. coli toxins if it is eaten raw.
- Health & Medicine
Six-month-old babies know words for common things, but struggle with similar nouns
Young babies know a cup of juice from a car, but have a hard time distinguishing more similar nouns, a new study finds.
- Archaeology
Skeletons could provide clues to who wrote or protected the Dead Sea Scrolls
Skeletons suggest a group of celibate men inhabited Dead Sea Scrolls site.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
How dad’s stress changes his sperm
Stress may change sperm via packets of RNA in the epididymis, a mouse study suggests.
- Science & Society
Readers inspired by SN 10 scientists’ research
Readers wanted to know more about the scientists' research who were profiled in "The SN 10: Scientists to watch."
- Archaeology
How Asian nomadic herders built new Bronze Age cultures
Ancient steppe herders traveled into Europe and Asia, leaving their molecular mark and building Bronze Age cultures.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
New blood pressure guidelines put half of U.S. adults in unhealthy range
New hypertension guidelines broaden the range of those considered to have high blood pressure and emphasize lifestyle changes to combat the condition.
- Science & Society
Philosophical critique exposes flaws in medical evidence hierarchies
Rankings of research methods for validity of medical evidence suffer from logical flaws, an in-depth philosophical critique concludes.
- Health & Medicine
Cholera pandemics are fueled by globe-trotting bacterial strains
International cholera strains, rather than local ones, have caused raging epidemics, according to research that examined the bacteria’s DNA.
- Anthropology
Ancient European farmers and foragers hooked up big time
Interbreeding escalated in regionally distinct ways across Neolithic Europe.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
Scientists replaced 80 percent of a ‘butterfly’ boy’s skin
By correcting genes in stem cells and growing new skin in the lab, a new therapy repaired a genetic skin disease.
- Health & Medicine
Human study supports theory on why dengue can be worse the next time around
The amount of dengue antibodies leftover in the blood may up the chances of a severe second dengue infection, a study finds.