Humans
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Health & Medicine
Addicts and siblings share brain features
The finding suggests that diminished self-control and other behaviors may have a genetic component.
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Chemistry
Muscle massage may speed healing
Rubbing sore, overworked areas trips anti-inflammatory switches in the tissue that might speed healing and ease pain.
By Nathan Seppa -
Humans
Arsenic-based life finding fails follow-up
Tests see no evidence to confirm a bold 2010 claim that some microbes can incorporate the normally toxic element into their cellular machinery.
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Health & Medicine
Bird flu leaves tracks in brain
H5N1 infection might make survivors vulnerable to Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders, a study in mice indicates.
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Humans
Predatory pythons shift Everglades ecology
As invasive snakes expand territory, some mammal populations drop by more than 90 percent within a decade.
By Janet Raloff -
Psychology
Fighting willpower’s catch-22
Avoiding daily temptations works better than using willpower, which has oddly unintended effects.
By Bruce Bower -
Humans
Catching a mood on Facebook
Happiness and other feelings filter among online friends through their brief posts.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & Medicine
Prions more mobile than thought
Scientists coax pathogens from cow and goat to infect engineered mice, suggesting disease agents can readily jump from one species to another.
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Humans
Intel Science Talent Search names top 40 finalists
More than 1,800 high school students entered the 2012 competition.
By Devin Powell -
Health & Medicine
Social friction tied to inflammation
Negative interactions with others or stressful competition for another’s attention seem to have risky biological effects on an individual.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Turn off, tune in, drop out
Magic mushrooms reduce blood flow to parts of the brain responsible for sense of self.
By Devin Powell -
Humans
Election night numbers can signal fraud
Wealth of high-turnout blowouts in Russia’s 2011 parliamentary contest strongly suggests ballot stuffing, an analysis concludes.