Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Genetics

    Mummy DNA unveils the history of ancient Egyptian hookups

    A study of DNA extracted from Egyptian mummies untangles ancient ancestry and attempts to resolve quality issues.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Some topics call for science reporting from many angles

    There’s heartbreak in this issue. Science News investigates different facets of the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    For babies exposed to opioids in the womb, parents may be the best medicine

    A surge in opioid-exposed newborns has U.S. doctors revamping treatments and focusing on families.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Researchers stumble onto a new role for breast cancer drug

    At first, ophthalmologist Xu Wang thought her experiment had failed. But instead, she revealed a new role for the breast cancer drug tamoxifen — protection from eye injury.

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  5. Archaeology

    Peru’s plenty brought ancient human migration to a crawl

    Ancient Americans reached Peru 15,000 years ago and stayed put, excavations suggest.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    The opioid epidemic spurs a search for new, safer painkillers

    Today’s opioids stop pain — but they’re also dangerous. Scientists are hunting for replacements.

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  7. Psychology

    Running is contagious among those with the competitive bug

    Can behaviors really be contagious? Runners log more miles when their friends do — especially if they want to stay leader of the pack, a new study finds.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    New test may improve pancreatic cancer diagnoses

    Blood test that detects five tumor proteins may someday help doctors better screen for pancreatic cancer.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Drugs for reflux disease in infants may come with unintended consequences

    Infants prescribed proton-pump inhibitors for reflux disease may be at higher risk for broken bones later on.

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  10. Archaeology

    Tool sharpens focus on Stone Age networking in the Middle East

    Stone Age tool’s route to Syrian site covered at least 700 kilometers.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Older adults may not benefit from taking statins

    Statins did not reduce heart attacks, coronary heart disease deaths or deaths from any cause in people age 65 and older, a new analysis finds.

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  12. Anthropology

    European fossils may belong to earliest known hominid

    With new analyses of Graecopithecus fossils from Greece and Bulgaria, researchers argue for possible hominid origins in Europe, not Africa.

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