Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    How to help your toddler be helpful (with caveats)

    Even very young toddlers like to help, a social skill that’s linked to later success in school and life.

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  2. Psychology

    Phone apps are helping scientists track suicidal thoughts in real time

    Researchers are using smartphones to tap into the ups and downs of suicidal thinking that occur over hours and days, hoping to help prevent suicides.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    The number of teens who report having sex is down

    About 40 percent of high school students are having sex, the lowest amount in the last three decades.

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  4. Humans

    What I actually learned about my family after trying 5 DNA ancestry tests

    Ancestry results vary widely depending on which company you use.

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  5. Genetics

    DNA testing can bring families together, but gives mixed answers on ethnicity

    DNA testing has become a new way for millions of Americans to expand their family trees and learn something about themselves, but results vary widely.

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  6. Astronomy

    Readers were curious about pendulum saws, laser tweezers and more

    Readers had questions about Bronze Age pendulum saws, dark matter, lazer tweezers and more.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Kids with food allergies are twice as likely to have autism

    Children with food allergies are more likely to have autism than kids without, a study finds. But that doesn’t mean a child will develop the disorder.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    If you thought the most recent flu season was bad, you were right

    The recent U.S. flu season was classified as highly severe overall, the third time since 2003 that the seasonal outbreak has earned that designation.

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  9. Archaeology

    This theory suggests few workers were needed to cap Easter Island statues

    A small workforce may have put huge stones on the heads of Easter Island statues.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Suicide rates have shot up in almost every U.S. state

    Suicide rates increased sharply in nearly all 50 states from 1999 to 2016, according to a new government report.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    At-home telomere testing is not a reliable marker of aging, researcher says

    Telomere testing for consumers offers a poor measure of “biological age,” says Johns Hopkins oncologist Mary Armanios.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    There are benefits to prenatal yoga, but lingering questions remain

    Prenatal yoga offers benefits to pregnant women, but a bigger and more rigorous body of research is needed.

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