Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    Caffeine resets body’s clock

    Caffeine can push the body’s clock back.

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  2. Environment

    Home fires, farm fumes are leading causes of air-pollution deaths

    Deadly air pollution comes from surprising sources, but toxicity of different types is still up in the air.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Backwash from nursing babies may trigger infection fighters

    A nursing baby’s saliva may get slurped back into mom’s breast, where it stimulates an immune response.

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  4. Psychology

    People find the skin of others’ softer than their own

    Humans perceive other peoples’ skin as softer and smoother than their own because touch is important in social bonding, researchers suggest.

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  5. Archaeology

    ‘Superhenge’ once lined Stonehenge neighborhood

    A row of massive, now-buried stones once bordered a site near Stonehenge.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Clinical trial suggests new blood pressure standard

    Preliminary results from a clinical trial suggest lower blood pressure targets could reduce rates of cardiovascular diseasae.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Plant spills crucial details for making cancer drug

    By injuring the Himalayan mayapple, researchers worked out how the plant makes an important ingredient in a common cancer drug.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Less vitamin D and melatonin bad for multiple sclerosis

    Vitamin D and melatonin play important roles in multiple sclerosis.

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  9. Anthropology

    Fossils suggest new species from human genus

    Undated South African cave fossils may reveal a new species in the human genus.

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  10. Anthropology

    Immortality and more in reader feedback

    This week in reader feedback: Immortality and tracing ancient humans.

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  11. Neuroscience

    Misfolded proteins implicated in more brain diseases

    Alzheimer’s, other disorders show similarity to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion infections.

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  12. Anthropology

    Minutes after encountering danger, lemurs yawn

    Madagascar primates yawn within minutes of encountering threats.

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