Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Psychology

    Geometric minds skip school

    Villagers' understanding of lines and triangles raises questions about how people learn the properties of objects in space.

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  2. Life

    Suspect bacterium may trigger Parkinson’s

    A study in mice shows that H. pylori, the microbe that causes stomach ulcers, may also affect the brain.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Body & Brain

    Coffee may help protect against prostate cancer, plus protecting organ transplants and limiting HIV transmission in this week’s news.

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  4. Humans

    Simple Heresy

    Rules of thumb challenge complex financial analyses 

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Healthy Aging in a Pill

    To extend life span, scientists envision a drug that mimics the benefits of a near-starvation diet.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Don’t share that clarinet

    Bacteria can linger on woodwind instruments, particularly those with reeds, for days, a new study finds.

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  7. Life

    Your gut microbes are what you eat

    A mammal's diet strongly influences what kinds of microorganisms live in its intestines.

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  8. Psychology

    Eyes take gossip to heart

    Reading negative gossip about someone makes that person’s face easier to perceive.

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  9. Humans

    It’s time to put a price on carbon, NRC says

    “It is imprudent to delay actions that at least begin the process of substantially reducing emissions [of greenhouse gases],” according to a May 12 report by the National Research Council. It didn’t get a lot of press play in the past week, perhaps because its 144 pages don’t say anything readers might not have expected this august body to have proclaimed years ago. But that shouldn’t diminish the significance of this report, its authors contend.

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  10. Humans

    Geographic profiling fights disease

    Widely used to snare serial criminals, a forensic method finds application in epidemiology.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    No pain, healthier brain

    When chronic back problems are treated, benefits extend above the neck.

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  12. Humans

    Humans

    New World’s oldest dog may have been dinner, plus worrisome PTSD and the benefits of artful dodging in this week’s news.

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