Humans

  1. Health & Medicine

    Heavy drinking drove hundreds of thousands of Americans to early graves

    From 2011 to 2015, more than 93,000 U.S. deaths per year could be tied to excessive alcohol use, researchers say.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Hydroxychloroquine can’t stop COVID-19. It’s time to move on, scientists say

    Hydroxychloroquine doesn’t work as antiviral or a treatment for COVID-19, an abundance of scientific data suggest.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Coronavirus outbreak at a Georgia overnight camp infected over 200 kids and staff

    A report documenting a COVID-19 outbreak in Georgia hints that children might play a key role in spreading the virus.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Human sperm don’t swim the way that anyone had thought

    High-speed 3-D microscopy and mathematical analyses reveal that rolling and lopsided tail flicks keep the cells swimming in a straight line.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Many U.S. neighborhoods with the worst air 40 years ago remain the most polluted

    Air pollution has declined in the United States, but marginalized communities are still disproportionately affected despite the improvement.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Close relatives of the coronavirus may have been in bats for decades

    The coronavirus lineage that gave rise to SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in bats for around 40 to 70 years, a study suggests.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    A popular heartburn medicine doesn’t work as a COVID-19 antiviral

    In lab tests, an antacid didn’t prevent coronavirus infection, but clinical tests are needed to see if it can help people who already have COVID-19.

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  8. Archaeology

    Ancient DNA suggests Vikings may have been plagued by smallpox

    Viral genetic material from human remains provides direct evidence that smallpox infected people dating back to the year 603.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Masks help new moms with COVID-19 safely breastfeed their babies

    A study reports newborns could be held and breastfed safely when moms with COVID-19 wore masks and cleaned their hands.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    To prevent the next pandemic, we might need to cut down fewer trees

    Investing in halting deforestation and limiting the wildlife trade could be a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of pandemics, a new analysis finds.

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  11. Archaeology

    Stone artifacts hint that humans reached the Americas surprisingly early

    Finds uncovered in a Mexican cave suggest North America may have had human inhabitants more than 30,000 years ago — way before archaeologists thought.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    A blood test may show which COVID-19 patients steroids will help — or harm

    An inflammation marker was a good indicator of which patients had lower or higher risks of dying or needing a ventilator when given steroids.

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