Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Humans

    Human DNA found in a Neandertal woman

    Interbreeding between humans and Neandertals happened earlier than thought, leaving traces in the Neandertal genome.

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  2. Animals

    Slow-moving nurse sharks have a metabolism to match

    The nurse shark has the slowest metabolism of any shark measured so far, a new study finds.

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  3. Life

    Memory cells enhance strategy for fighting blood cancers

    Immune therapy made more powerful with memory T cells.

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  4. Neuroscience

    Re-creating womb sounds perks preemies’ attention

    Babies born prematurely may benefit from hearing a recording of their mothers’ voices and heartbeats.

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  5. Neuroscience

    Tiny bare-bones brains made in lab dishes

    A reliable way to make standard-issue minibrains could help scientists study the human brain.

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  6. Animals

    Saving salamanders from amphibian killer may take extreme measures

    Experience from lethal Bd fungus outbreak is helping researchers defend North America’s salamander paradise from new Bsal threat.

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  7. Neuroscience

    Early exposure to signing helps deaf kids on mental task

    Deaf kids exposed to sign language from birth performed better on a task that required attention and impulse control.

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  8. Environment

    Vaping linked to host of new health risks

    Animal studies and analyses of gene activity point to broad range of potential new health risks from vaping affecting everything from sperm to heart and immunity to mental health.

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  9. Microbes

    Microbe mix varies by kind of home

    Urban homes hold more human-associated bacteria compared with rural homes. Subdivided houses with lots of rooms and poor ventilation could be to blame.

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  10. Genetics

    Neandertal DNA may raise risk for some modern human diseases

    Neandertal DNA may once have helped humans, but now may contribute to disease.

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  11. Animals

    Africa’s poison arrow beetles are key in traditional hunting method

    In the Kalahari of Namibia, some San people still hunt with a traditional method — arrows laced with poison taken from beetle larvae.

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  12. Astronomy

    In all sorts of circumstances, life finds a way

    Editor in Chief discusses the new marine habitats formed by human pollution and the alarming rise of the Zika virus.

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