Science & Society

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

More Stories in Science & Society

  1. Science & Society

    Know the legal age to buy tobacco products in the U.S.? Many parents don’t

    A study finds that less than half of surveyed parents know the legal age, 21, to buy cigarettes, vapes, nicotine pouches and other tobacco products.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Fluoride in U.S. drinking water does not reduce IQ, a new study finds

    Claims that fluoride in drinking water causes cognitive delays in kids are driving U.S. policy. A new study finds no evidence to back them.

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  3. Life

    Talking dogs and chatty cats could one day ‘speak’ in our language

    Advances in decoding animal sounds might someday make animal translators a possibility.

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  4. Science & Society

    Snippets of hair may expose chronic stress in war refugees

    Cortisol in hair shows sharper differences in chronic stress among Ukraine war refugees than standard questionnaires.

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  5. Science & Society

    Pronatalists want more babies. Their solutions aren’t rooted in science

    Conservative pronatalists want a return to the traditional nuclear family. But that family structure is at odds with how humans evolved.

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  6. Science & Society

    Social media can be addictive, a jury finds. Research hints at a link

    Instagram and YouTube intentionally designed social media platforms to hook users, a landmark court case found. A pediatrician explains the ruling’s impact.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Amid vaccine policy whiplash, here’s how a pediatrician talks to families

    A court ruling that blocks Trump administration vaccine policy is a win for science. But much work remains to rebuild trust in vaccines.

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  8. Earth

    To make a ‘Snowball Earth,’ sci-fi moves fast. Geology is far slower

    The Day After Tomorrow, Snowpiercer, Snowball Earth: Such end-of-days visions of a frozen Earth are fantastical … but can contain a snowflake of truth.

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  9. Animals

    Wild monkeys invaded Florida. Should people protect them?

    A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.

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