Humans

  1. Humans

    Most Neandertals were right-handers

    Right handedness, and perhaps spoken language, originated at least a half million years ago, a new study suggests.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Armadillos may spread leprosy

    A new strain of the disease has shown up in patients and in the animals in parts of the Deep South, suggesting a cause of rare U.S. cases.

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  3. Life

    Half-asleep rats look wide awake

    In a discovery with ominous implications for sleep deprivation, researchers find that some brain regions can doze off while an animal remains active.

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  4. Tech

    Robot based on cartwheeling caterpillars

    GoQBot curls itself up and takes off spinning.

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  5. Humans

    Humans

    Soothing loneliness with Facebook, plus mapping crowds and making a good first impression in this week’s news.

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  6. Psychology

    Why some gorillas go unseen

    Attention differences help to explain why some people don't notice surprising sights.

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  7. Humans

    Because some foods carry organophosphate residues

    Three new papers link prenatal exposures to organophosphate (OP) pesticides with diminished IQs in children. Fruits and veggies are one continuing source of exposure to these bug killers. As to what we’re supposed to do with that knowledge — well, the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, offers some guidance.

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  8. Chemistry

    Pesticides tied to lower IQ in children

    Chemicals once sprayed in homes — and still used on farms — were found to have significant effects in three studies.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Flies on meth burn through sugar

    Cellular effects may explain why addicts often have a sweet tooth.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Mucus-related gene tied to lung disease

    People with pulmonary fibrosis are much more likely to make excess amounts of a normally beneficial protein, a study finds.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Experimental Biology 2011 conference

    Even larvae can love the blues, plus distemper’s roots, fat-busting blueberries and more meeting news.

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  12. Life

    Gut bacteria come in three flavors

    Everybody has one of a trio of types — and which one seems to be less important than how the bugs behave.

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