All Stories
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Health & Medicine
An Illinois patient’s death may be the first in the U.S. tied to vaping
Officials have announced one death among nearly 200 patients with severe lung illnesses that are potentially related to vaping.
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Earth
Brazil’s Amazon has burned this badly before. This year’s fires are still bad
An environmental scientist discusses possible impacts from the thousands of fires burning across the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
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Health & Medicine
Marijuana and meth are getting more popular in America, but cocaine has declined
In 2006, drug users spent more on cocaine than on heroin, marijuana or methamphetamine. By 2016, marijuana expenditures had exceeded the other drugs.
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Science & Society
‘End Times’ explores the catastrophic events that could kill us all
A new book looks at the threats that could wipe out humankind and what can be done to counteract them.
By Kyle Plantz -
Space
For an asteroid, Ryugu has surprisingly little dust on its surface
Ryugu lacks the dust that some other space rocks have. The near-Earth asteroid may hide the fine debris inside porous rocks or eject it into space.
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Health & Medicine
Vaping may have sent 153 people to hospitals with severe lung injuries
In the last two months, 16 U.S. states have reported 153 people hospitalized with lung injuries that may be tied to vaping.
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Health & Medicine
High blood pressure throughout middle age may increase the risk of dementia
A pattern of high blood pressure during midlife followed by high or low readings in one’s golden years is linked to dementia.
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Anthropology
A tiny skull fossil suggests primate brain areas evolved separately
Digital reconstruction of a fossilized primate skull reveals that odor and vision areas developed independently starting 20 million years ago or more.
By Bruce Bower -
Climate
Climate change may make El Niño and La Niña less predictable
Atlantic Niñas and Niños have been fairly reliable bellwethers for severe El Niño and La Niña events in the Pacific. A warming world may change that.
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Neuroscience
What human and mouse brains do and don’t have in common
A large comparison of human and mouse brain cells highlights key differences that could have implications for research on depression or Alzheimer’s.
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Physics
Quantum physicists have teleported ‘qutrits’ for the first time
The technique could be useful for creating a future quantum internet.
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Animals
Why one biologist chases hurricanes to study spider evolution
For more rigorous spider data, Jonathan Pruitt rushes into the paths of hurricanes.
By Susan Milius