Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    Artificial insulin-releasing cells may make it easier to manage diabetes

    Synthetic cells crafted in the lab could provide a more precise, longer-lasting diabetes treatment.

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  2. Archaeology

    Mystery void is discovered in the Great Pyramid of Giza

    High-energy particle imaging helps scientists peek inside one of the world’s oldest, largest monuments.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Readers intrigued by ancient animals’ bones

    Readers had questions about gut bacteria, woolly rhino ribs and ancient horses hooves.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Zika hasn’t been in the news much, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone

    Cases of Zika have dropped as more people become exposed, but the virus will likely emerge again in the future.

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  5. Psychology

    Whether psychology research is improving depends on whom you ask

    Psychologists are pessimistic about the state of their field but want to improve, a survey shows. But are new measures working?

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Using high-nicotine e-cigarettes may boost vaping and smoking in teens

    Vaping higher concentrations of nicotine is linked to how much and how often teens smoke and vape months later, a new study finds.

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  7. Genetics

    New CRISPR gene editors can fix RNA and DNA one typo at a time

    New gene editors can correct common typos that lead to disease.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    C-sections lead to heftier mouse pups, but the implications for people aren’t clear

    Mice born via C-section gained more weight than mice born vaginally, adding to the body of research that hints at a link between birth mode and future health.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Robotic docs can boost surgery time and cost

    Robots in the OR may not be worth the extra time or money for all procedures.

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  10. Genetics

    Mating with Neandertals reintroduced ‘lost’ DNA into modern humans

    Neandertal DNA brought back some old genetic heirlooms to modern humans.

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  11. Environment

    Pollution killed 9 million people in 2015

    First global look estimates the massive human and financial toll caused by pollution-related health problems.

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  12. Anthropology

    Scientists battle over whether violence has declined over time

    People are no more violent in small-scale societies than in states, researchers contend.

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