Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Chemistry

    Headache tree is a pain in the brain

    Following a gardener’s lead, researchers discover an ingredient in bay laurel that causes uncomfortable swelling of cranial blood vessels.

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  2. Life

    Axing molecular zombies may slow aging

    Killing off dormant cells slows the decline of mice genetically engineered to grow old fast.

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  3. Humans

    Humans’ entry into Europe pushed earlier

    Homo sapiens fossils from Italy and England point to an early arrival and a longer time living alongside Neandertals.

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  4. Physics

    The sound of screech

    Auditory experts decipher the blood-curdling nature of fingernails on a chalkboard.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Eye movements confirm hypnosis

    A true trance can't be faked, research suggests.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Brain gene activity changes through life

    Studies track biochemical patterns from just after conception to old age.

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  7. Humans

    Facebook value overstated, study finds

    Some estimates of the social networking site's worth appear to make impossible assumptions.

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  8. Psychology

    Digital bounty hunters unleashed

    Internet technique shows promise as fast way to mobilize huge problem-solving teams.

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  9. Humans

    Infected bats can recover . . . with lots of help

    Researchers reported new data today confirming that with enough coddling, many heavily infected bats can recover. The rub: These scientists also pointed out that there really aren’t sufficient resources to save more than a handful this way.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    HPV vaccine recommended for boys

    A federal panel expands the reach of shots as a separate new study shows the immunizations prevent precancerous anal lesions.

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  11. Earth

    A particulate threat to diabetics

    As levels of soot and other fine air pollutants increased, so did blood pressure in patients whose disease was not well-controlled, a study finds.

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  12. Life

    Gene makes some pilots get rusty faster

    A common DNA variant affects the pace of age-related decline in performance on skilled tasks like flying a plane.

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