Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Tech

    Stretchy silicon sticker monitors your heartbeat

    A new stretchy memory device looks like a temporary tattoo and works like a heart rate monitor.

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  2. Psychology

    As suicide rates rise, researchers separate thoughts from actions

    Advances in suicide research and treatment may depend on separating thoughts from acts.

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  3. Science & Society

    How seeing ‘Star Wars’ satisfies your narcissistic tendencies

    Participating in geek culture allows self-identified geeks to satisfy a narcissistic need for expert status, a new study hypothesizes.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Gene behavior distinguishes viral from bacterial infections

    Researchers have identified signatures of viral infection, a distinction that may help doctors tell whether bacteria or a virus is causing trouble.

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  5. Science & Society

    In science, a lack of replication shouldn’t kill your reputation

    The proof is science is when a study is replicated. When it’s not, do scientists suffer? A new study says researchers may overestimate the negative effects.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Anatomy of the South Korean MERS outbreak

    The Middle East respiratory syndrome virus, which infected 186 people in South Korea in 2015, quickly spread within and between hospitals via a handful of “superspreaders.”

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Cow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes

    The 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases went into effect in 2015, and it included some interesting additions.

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  8. Anthropology

    Thigh bone adds to mystery over 14,000-year-old Homo species

    Controversial Chinese leg fossil may point to hybrid humans 14,000 years ago.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    To treat the heart, start with the gut

    Preventing gut bacteria from making certain chemical compounds reduced artery clogging in mice, researchers report.

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  10. Science & Society

    Links between scrapie and MS less likely

    Five decades later, scientists still puzzle over what causes multiple sclerosis.

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  11. Life

    In the body, cells move like flocks of birds or schools of fish

    Cells move in groups similarly to flocks of birds and schools of fish

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  12. Neuroscience

    Mini microscope is a window into live muscle tissue

    A tiny microscope offers unprecedented views of live human muscles.

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