Life

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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Life

    Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs

    During the age of dinosaurs, early mammals probably lacked the stripes and spots of their modern relatives, having uniformly dark, drab coats.

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  2. Neuroscience

    Parenthood may help the brain stay young

    A study of nearly 38,000 adults shows that the number of kids correlates with coordination of brain regions’ activities — regardless of parents’ sex.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    6 things to know about antidepressants

    An abundance of data show that SSRIs, a class of drugs commonly used as antidepressants, are effective, though, like any drug, they have risks.

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  4. Climate

    Some trees are coping with extreme heat surprisingly well

    Rising temperatures could reduce trees' ability to photosynthesize. Scientists are trying to figure out just how close we are to that point.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Brain implants don’t change a person’s sense of self. Hear why

    In the fifth episode of The Deep End, volunteers describe what it’s like to live with the stigma of depression and the treatments they seek for it.

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  6. Animals

    Dolphins and humans team up to catch fish in Brazil

    In Brazil, where humans and dolphins fish in tandem, cooperation both within and between species is essential for the longstanding tradition.

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  7. Animals

    Some sea turtles are laying eggs earlier in response to climate change

    A 1-degree-Celsius change in water temperature prompts sea turtles in Northern Cyprus to lay eggs nearly a week earlier on average.

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  8. Animals

    How a Labrador retriever’s genes might affect the dog’s obesity risk

    Understanding the genetics of Labrador retriever obesity may help dog owners mitigate their best friend’s weight gain.

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  9. Climate

    Warming is chasing cloud forests steadily uphill

    Cloud forests are biodiversity hot spots and crucial water sources. But climate change and deforestation are shrinking their range, new data show.

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  10. Animals

    Crickets and flies face off in a quiet evolutionary battle

    Male crickets in Hawaii softened their chirps once parasitic flies started hunting them. Now, it seems, the flies are homing in on the new tunes.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    These scientists have a plan to demystify the vaginal microbiome

    Vaginal microbes play a huge role in overall health, but researchers know relatively little about them. Citizen science could help change that.

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  12. Genetics

    A child who got CAR-T cancer therapy is still disease-free 18 years later

    The long-term survival of a patient with neuroblastoma suggests the personalized cancer treatment may work for solid tumors, not just blood cancers.

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