Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Anthropology

    Human evolution put brakes on tooth growth

    A new analysis of fossil teeth indicates that the slower pace of dental development observed in people today dates back only about 100,000 years.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Low Radiation Hurts Bystander Cells

    New research confirms that alpha particles from decaying radon atoms can damage neighboring cells they don't directly hit and suggests a mechanism for this so-called bystander effect.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Thinking the way to stronger muscles

    Thinking about exercising a muscle can make it stronger.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    New epilepsy drug is possible

    A drug mimicking a natural substance in the brain may offer a new therapy for epilepsy.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Antibiotic now tackles Parkinson’s

    A well-known antibiotic may slow the brain-cell death that causes Parkinson's disease.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    A spice takes on Alzheimer’s disease

    Curcumin, a spice used in yellow curry, may thwart Alzheimer's disease.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Drugs tested for Lou Gehrig’s disease

    Two drugs, one for cancer and one for arthritis, may be effective treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Protein fragment halts type I diabetes

    A new protein-based drug injected into people just starting to show signs of diabetes halts the disease.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Human-cloning claim creates controversy

    A biotech company has begun cloning human embryos.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Kawasaki patients show coronary calcium

    The heart attack risk associated with Kawasaki disease, a childhood inflammatory disease that can cause aneurysms, may stem from calcium build-up in coronary arteries.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Light blow to chest can be fatal

    A light blow to the heart can cause cardiac arrest, even when the blow isn't hard enough to cause injury.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Statins, yes; antioxidants, no

    Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins improves the health outlook for patients at risk of heart attack even when these patients aren't considered obvious candidates to receive the treatment.

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