Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Humans

    Letters from the July 23, 2005, issue of Science News

    Clearly a problem? “Built for Blurs: Jellyfish have great eyes that can’t focus” (SN: 5/14/05, p. 307) states that “the resulting blurred view is good enough for spotting large objects such as mangrove roots.” It seems to me that the article is missing the crucial biological question presented by these eyes. My understanding is that […]

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  2. Anthropology

    People fired up Aussie extinctions

    Early Australian settlers may have altered the continent's landscape around 50,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of many animal species.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Money Matters in Obesity

    The higher cost of healthier food choices could be a major factor fostering the consumption of especially fattening fare.

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  4. Humans

    From the July 13, 1935, issue

    An artificial cavern with no echoes, a new theory from Albert Einstein, and an explanation for red shift.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Brain Power: Stem cells put a check on nerve disorders

    Adult neural stem cells protect the brain against repeated episodes of inflammation in disorders such as multiple sclerosis by killing inflammatory immune cells.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Cancer Switch: Good gene is shut off in various malignancies

    A gene called Reprimo is shut down in several cancers but rarely in healthy cells.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Codes for Killers: Knowledge of microbes could lead to cures

    Scientists have deciphered the DNA of the parasites responsible for African sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease, and leishmaniasis.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Vaccines against Marburg and Ebola viruses advance

    Two new vaccines protect against the lethal Ebola and Marburg viruses, tests in monkeys show.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Cells in heart can regenerate dead tissue

    Stem cells in heart tissue that has survived a heart attack can be prodded to regenerate dead portions of the injured organ.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Beans, Beans, Good for the Heart

    Consumption of black beans, a traditional part of Latin American and Hispanic diets, results in a lower risk of heart disease, but urbanizing populations are eating ever less of this healthy food.

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  11. Humans

    From the July 6, 1935, issue

    A phantom ship on Crater Lake, a possible dietary cure for cancer, and an island universe in a cloud of dust.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Anatomia

    These Web pages feature more than 4,500 historic illustrations of human anatomy, taken from 95 rare books, ranging in date from 1522 to 1867. The books come from the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. See, for example, a drawing of the human heart and lungs, taken from René Descartes’ book De homine, […]

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