Life

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    To treat the heart, start with the gut

    Preventing gut bacteria from making certain chemical compounds reduced artery clogging in mice, researchers report.

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  2. Animals

    Male monkeys go rouge for mating season

    Bright red lip color separates players from bachelors during monkey mating season.

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  3. Life

    For water bears, the glass is all full

    When dried, water bears turn into glass.

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  4. Animals

    Algal toxin impairs sea lion memory

    California sea lions that have brain damage linked to domoic acid poisoning have impaired spatial memory, a new study finds.

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  5. Life

    In the body, cells move like flocks of birds or schools of fish

    Cells move in groups similarly to flocks of birds and schools of fish

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  6. Neuroscience

    Mini microscope is a window into live muscle tissue

    A tiny microscope offers unprecedented views of live human muscles.

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  7. Life

    Cancer cells get help migrating through the body

    Helper cells may give cancer a straight shot to spread through the body.

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  8. Life

    Muscle repair gets spooky help

    Ghost fibers are tunnels that stem cells can use to rebuild muscles fiber by fiber.

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  9. Genetics

    Year in review: Breakthrough gene editor sparks ethics debate

    The gene editing system CRISPR has opened the door to new scientific advancements — and ethical concerns.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Year in review: Not all bodies act their age

    People grow old at different rates, but the underlying drivers of aging may be the same: molecular havoc wreaked inside of cells, scientists suggested in 2015.

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  11. Life

    Year in review: Microbe discoveries spur rethink of treetop of life

    Microbes discovered in Arctic mud this year could be the closest relatives yet found to the single-celled ancestor that made life so complicated.

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  12. Genetics

    Year in review: Epigenome makes its debut

    The Roadmap Epigenomics Project, unveiled in February 2015, is the first in a series of 3-D looks at the human genome.

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