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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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Health & MedicineChocolate-science news
Make no mistake: Chocolate is not a health food. Indeed, most portions are loaded with empty calories from sugar and saturated fats. Hershey Foods Corp. Several studies in recent years, however, have demonstrated that among sweets, chocolate may possess a few nutritional advantages over most calorie-rich alternatives. The latest of these good-news findings is a […]
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineVeggies prevent cancer through key protein
An international team of researchers has identified a protein that helps compounds in some vegetables prevent cancer.
By Linda Wang -
Health & MedicineStudy reveals male link to preeclampsia
Men who were born of mothers who had the pregnancy complication preeclampsia are roughly twice as likely to father a child through preeclamptic pregnancy than are men who were born of mothers who had a normal pregnancy.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnthropologyFossil Skull Diversifies Family Tree
A 3.5-million-year-old skull found in Kenya represents a group of species in the human evolutionary family that evolved separately from australopithecines such as Lucy's kind in Ethiopia.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineFatty plaques are unstable in vessels
Fatty plaques that form on the inside of blood vessels are less stable and hence more prone to rupture than are hard, calcified plaques.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineParkinson’s implants survive in brain
Human embryonic stem cells transplanted into the brains of people with Parkinson's disease survive and grow better in patients under 60 years of age than in older patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSoy slashes cancer-fostering hormones (with recipe)
Asian women tend to have much lower breast-cancer rates than their Western counterparts–unless they move to Europe or North America. Then the cancers incidence in these women begins to match local norms. United Soybean Board This observation has suggested that something about the Western way of life, probably diet, promotes cancer–or that something about Eastern […]
By Janet Raloff -
HumansWhere’s the Book?
Innovative curricula are moving science education away from a reliance on textbooks.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineDrug helps against certain breast cancers
In some patients, the drug trastuzumab, also called Herceptin, slows breast cancer that has spread to other organs.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineNarcoleptic dogs still have their day
Evidence from studies with dachshunds and poodles is suggesting that these small breeds may serve as better models than larger dogs, such as Labrador retrievers, for the more genetically complex narcolepsy in people.
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HumansScience Talent Search winners shine bright
Science Service and Intel announced the winners of the 2001 Science Talent Search.
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Health & MedicineCancer cells have a ticket to ride
Cancer cells may spread using the same system that immune system cells use to move through the body.