Humans

  1. Anthropology

    The Forager King

    A celebrated anthropologist surprises and inspires his biographer.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Can poliovirus fix spinal cord damage?

    Scientists have devised a version of the poliovirus that can deliver genes to motor neurons without harming them, a step toward a gene therapy that reawakens idle neurons in people with spinal cord damage.

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  3. Archaeology

    Ancient Site Holds Cannibalism Clues

    An 800-year-old Anasazi site in Colorado yields contested evidence of cannibalism.

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  4. Humans

    Ideal Justice: Mathematicians judge the Supreme Court

    The current U.S. Supreme Court of nine judges behaves as if it were made up of 4.68 "ideal" justices who make their decisions completely independently, a mathematical analysis suggests.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Prevention in a Pill? Baldness drug might avert prostate cancer

    The drug finasteride, given to alleviate baldness and prostate problems, might prevent some cases of prostate cancer.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    McDonald’s Cutback in Antibiotics Use Could Reduce Drug-Resistant Bacteria

    The fast-food chain McDonald’s announced on June 19 that it will stop its farms under contract from feeding chicken, cattle, and pigs certain antibiotics intended to accelerate the animals’ growth. That step might slow or reverse the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect people, scientists say. HAPPIER MEAL. Coming soon to a McDonald’s near […]

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  7. Humans

    From the June 24, 1933, issue

    LIGHTNING Lightning, most awesome of the spectacular forces of nature, has yielded some of its mystery to science. But not all. We no longer credit it, as did our ancestors, to an angry Zeus or an impetuous Thor. Since Ben Franklin flew his adventurous kites, nearly two centuries ago, we know it is “made of […]

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Double Duty: Diabetes drug protects reopened heart vessels

    A drug normally prescribed to hold blood sugar in check provides an unexpected benefit to heart patients.

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  9. Anthropology

    New Guinea Went Bananas: Agriculture’s roots get a South Pacific twist

    Inhabitants of New Guinea began to cultivate bananas in large quantities nearly 7,000 years ago, an agricultural practice that spread to Southeast Asia and throughout the Pacific region.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    MRI detects missed breast cancers

    Magnetic resonance imaging detects breast cancer better than does mammography and might be preferable for certain women at high risk.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Cancer vaccine gets first test in patients

    The first clinical test of a cancer vaccine that targets a protein called carcinoembryonic antigen shows promise.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Early cancer therapy and heart problems

    Pediatric cancer treatment with chest radiation or anthracyclines can cause a heightened risk of heart disease at an earlier age than previously believed.

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