Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    How many steps a day do you really need to take?

    An analysis of 57 studies shows that people who walked a certain number of steps were less likely to die from any cause compared with those who walked less.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Climate change may be pushing fungal allergy season earlier

    Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may be lengthening fungal allergy season, which starts 3 weeks earlier than it did two decades ago.

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  3. Archaeology

    AI reveals new details about a famous Latin inscription

    An analysis of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti using AI reveals its legal tone and imperial messaging, offering new insights missed by historians.

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  4. Humans

    Forget discrete droplets. This is how sweat really forms

    The most-detailed look yet at how we perspire reveals that beads of sweat are out, puddling is in.

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  5. Science & Society

    Screen addiction affects teens’ mental health. How to spot it, and help

    Banning screens is often not an option. So Science News spoke with experts studying screen use and addiction in teens to help families navigate this complex issue.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    U.S. measles outbreaks may end a hard-won victory over the virus

    Dropping vaccination rates and changes in U.S. vaccine policy have public health experts concerned that annual measles outbreaks could become more frequent.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Here’s how air pollution may trigger lung cancer

    Exposure to air pollution may trigger DNA mutations that cause lung cancer in nonsmokers.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    U.S. FDA may nix black box warning on some menopause estrogen treatments

    Experts worry the warning on vaginal estrogen menopause treatments is doing more harm than good and is not supported by science.

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  9. Humans

    A child’s biological sex may not always be a random 50-50 chance

    Some people’s biology may set them up to birth babies of a certain sex, explaining why a family with multiple children may have all girls or all boys.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    ‘Rehab’ exposes the dark underside of U.S. drug treatment centers

    In Rehab, journalist Shoshana Walter investigates the systemic pitfalls of drug treatment programs, which prevent people’s recovery from addiction.

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  11. Humans

    No, shaken baby syndrome has not been discredited

    Defense lawyers have called shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, junk science. But doctors say shaking a baby is dangerous.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Protein signatures may one day tell brain diseases apart before symptoms

    Blood tests could pave the way for distinguishing between Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and some dementias, aiding early treatment for brain diseases.

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