Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Should your kid eat organic? The answer is complicated
The science behind kids’ pesticide exposure is complicated and patchy.
- Neuroscience
Football helmet redesign can reduce concussion risk
No helmet will ever eliminate the risk of sustaining a concussions during a football game. But tweaking the design may slow the speed of head movements after a hit and reduce the risk of brain trauma.
- Health & Medicine
Smoking equality
A study of tobacco smoking patterns reports that more men than women smoke in every country except Sweden.
- Health & Medicine
Your baby knows who your real friends are
Infants are surprisingly good judges of who ought to be friendly to each other.
- Health & Medicine
Tumors grow faster in cancer-prone mice given vitamins
The tumors killed the mice twice as fast as early-stage lung lesions in mice not given the antioxidants, researchers report.
- Health & Medicine
Immunotherapy attacks aberrant cervical growth
The treatment might stop cancers before they arise.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Neandertal hot spots highlighted in modern humans’ DNA
Mating with evolutionary cousins produced genetic trade-offs for Stone Age people.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
H7N9 flu makes a comeback
Scientists warn that the risk that the illness could spread remains.
- Neuroscience
Famous brain surgery patient H.M. retained a chunk of hippocampus
The patient's amnesia was probably due to the loss of other regions and neural connections.
- Life
Molecule stops MERS spread among cultured human cells
The molecule interacts with the protein the MERS virus uses to enter a cell.
- Health & Medicine
Nanopackaging biodegrades after delivering cancer drug
DNA binding creates potentially nontoxic tumor-targeting structures.
By Beth Mole - Health & Medicine
Low semen levels in mice make for fatter sons
Mice without the glands that make semen may sire sons with more body fat.