Humans
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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		HumansLetters from the October 22, 2005, issue of Science News
Smell the birdie I wonder if any of the researchers had a pet bird (“Myth of the Bad-Nose Birds,” SN: 8/20/05, p. 120). My Alexandrine parakeet can smell beer or ice cream from two rooms away—She screams for her share. Bruce DowRidge Manor, Fla. Brainstorm The research into placebos’ pain relief (“Placebo reins in pain […]
By Science News - 			
			
		Health & MedicineIraq war casualties often complicated
Hundreds of injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan harbor an unusual bacterium that complicates wound healing.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineStrep vaccine stirs antibody production
An experimental vaccine against the microbe that causes strep throat can induce a potent immune response in adults.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		Health & MedicineEating disorders may have autoimmune roots
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa may be autoimmune diseases, according to a new study.
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		Health & MedicineAntibodies Counter Diabetes
Monoclonal antibodies that target immune cells can save pancreatic cells from the immune system for more than a year in people with type 1 diabetes.
By Ben Harder - 			
			
		Health & MedicineWe’re All Likely to Get Fat
A study based on decades of data from the Framingham Heart Study finds that in the United States, the vast majority of people entering middle age already have gained or slowly gain enough weight to be classified as overweight or obese.
By Janet Raloff - 			
			
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		AnthropologyEncore for Evolutionary Small-Timers: Tiny human cousins get younger with new finds
Excavations in an Indonesian cave have yielded more fossils of short, upright creatures that lived as recently as 12,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - 			
			
		Health & MedicineVaccine Clears Major Hurdle: Injections offer new tool against cervical cancers
An experimental vaccine against the virus that causes most cancers of the cervix has passed a test typically needed for regulatory approval.
By Nathan Seppa - 			
			
		HumansLetters from the October 15, 2005, issue of Science News
Sun, sky, or slather? “Sun Struck: Data suggest skin cancer epidemic looms” (SN: 8/13/05, p. 99) gives the impression that the increase in skin cancer among young people is caused by tanning in the sun. Environmental factors such as ozone depletion should have at least been referenced in the article. Cathy Hodge McCoidSacramento, Calif. In […]
By Science News - 			
			
		Health & MedicineVitamin C may treat cancer after all
Vitamin C may be an effective cancer fighter when taken intravenously in high doses.
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		AnthropologyWild gorillas take time for tool use
Gorillas that balance on walking sticks and trudge across makeshift bridges have provided the first evidence of tool use among these creatures in the wild.
By Bruce Bower