Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Tech

    FDA bans BPA in baby bottles, cups

    From now on, U.S. manufacturers may no longer produce polycarbonate baby bottles and sippy cups (for toddlers) if the clear plastic had been manufactured from bisphenol A, a hormone-mimicking compound. Long-awaited, the announcement is anything but a bold gesture. The Obama administration decided to lock this barn door after the cow had died.

    By Janet Raloff
  2. Humans

    Putting BPA-based dental fillings in perspective

    A new study finds that children who have their cavities filled with a white composite resin known as bis-GMA appear to develop small but quantifiable drops in psychosocial function. To put it simply: Treated kids can become more moody, aggressive and generally less well adjusted.

    By Janet Raloff
  3. Humans

    Afghanistan on 240 incidents a week

    A computer simulation forecasts insurgent activity by analyzing U.S. military logs released on WikiLeaks.

    By Rachel Ehrenberg
  4. Anthropology

    Scientists can’t decide if shoulders of giants were broader or just better organized

    By Matt Crenson
  5. Health & Medicine

    White dental fillings may impair kids’ behavior

    Effects seen only for fillings that used bis-GMA, a resin derived from bisphenol A.

    By Janet Raloff
  6. Health & Medicine

    Catching a Cancer

    The official figure for the percentage of human cancers caused by viruses is around 20 percent — but most experts concede that number is largely an educated guess

    By Laura Beil
  7. Humans

    Early Americans took two tool tracks

    Creators of separate spearhead styles colonized North America more than 13,000 years ago.

    By Bruce Bower
  8. Humans

    BLOG: Humans’ not-so singular status

    Reporting from the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin, editor in chief Tom Siegfried discusses how neuroscience and artificial intelligence research are challenging ideas of selfhood and humankind's specialness.

    By Tom Siegfried
  9. Health & Medicine

    Proliferation protein goes rogue in lung cancer

    Rac1b might promote malignancy, could be a target for treatment.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Memories clutter brain in amnesia

    Complex patterns slow down object recognition in patients with disorder.

    By Laura Sanders
  11. Humans

    Warning to bats: Cuddle not

    Ecologist Kate Langwig of Boston University and her colleagues want Eastern bats to listen up: No more cuddling — at least during hibernation. Just keep those wings to yourselves.

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Humans

    Apocalypse, not so fast

    Guatemalan find suggests mention of a date far in the future served a Maya king’s immediate needs.

    By Bruce Bower