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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Animals

    50 years after ‘Jaws,’ sharks face their own terror

    Humans have driven sharks and their cousins to the brink of extinction. The health of the entire ocean is at stake.

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  2. Animals

    U.S. seal populations have rebounded — and so have their conflicts with humans

    Alix Morris’s new book, A Year with the Seals, explores humans’ complicated relationship with these controversial marine mammals.

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  3. Animals

    Compare shark sizes on our infographic

    As Jaws celebrates its 50th anniversary, Science News explores the vast range of shark sizes, from megaladon to the dwarf lanternshark.

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  4. Animals

    This moth species may use the Milky Way as its guiding star

    Bogong moths migrate up to 1,000 kilometers from Australian plains to mountain caves to escape the summer heat. The stars may help them get there.

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  5. Anthropology

    ‘Dragon Man’ skull may be the first from an enigmatic human cousin

    Ancient proteins and DNA may peg a 146,000-year-old Chinese skull as the most complete fossil to date from Denisovans, a puzzling line of Asian hominids.

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  6. Science & Society

    How attacks on evolution in classrooms have shifted over the last 100 years

    Since the Scopes trial in 1925, Science News has reported on legislative attempts to undermine the teaching of evolution.

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  7. Animals

    Fewer scavengers could mean more zoonotic disease

    Scavenger populations are decreasing, a new study shows. That could put human health at risk.

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  8. Humans

    100 years after the Scopes trial, science is still under attack

    In 1925, John Scopes was indicted for teaching evolution. Science News looks at the forces that led to the trial and how expertise was the big loser.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    A genetic test may predict which weight loss drugs work best for patients

    Variants of obesity-related genes influence how much weight patients lose on specific weight loss drugs like liraglutide, two studies report.

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  10. Animals

    This spider’s barf is worse than its bite

    Most spider species subdue dinner by injecting venom from their fangs. Feather-legged lace weavers swathe prey in silk, then upchuck a killing brew.

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  11. Neuroscience

    At early ages, autism in girls and boys looks similar

    A new study of more than 2,500 children under 5 found little difference in autism symptoms between boys and girls.

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  12. Animals

    Preemptively cutting rhinos’ horns cuts poaching

    Comparing various tactics for protecting rhinos suggests that dehorning them drastically reduces poaching.

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