Humans

  1. Health & Medicine

    New treatments may rally ex-president’s fight against cancer

    Former President Jimmy Carter has a potentially lethal type of skin cancer that has already spread to his liver and brain. Recent improvements in medicine may help him fight it.

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  2. Environment

    Insecticide can change a spider’s personality

    A chemical meant to kill moths affects the behavior of some spiders. It alters the spiders’ ability to capture prey — including those moths.

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  3. Environment

    Some pollutants made mice less friendly

    Hormone-interfering chemicals make mice less social and may also alter their weight, a study finds. That affected the animals’ confidence — and behavior.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Survey finds U.S. schools start ‘too early’

    The school bell dings too early for U.S. tweens and teens, a survey finds. Most kids start class well before the recommended 8:30 a.m.

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  5. Science & Society

    More data link vaping to smoking

    A new study finds vapers who don’t smoke are likely to start — even when they initially had no intention of ever taking up a cigarette.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Chikungunya wings its way north — on mosquitoes

    A mosquito-borne virus once found only in the tropics has adapted to survive in mosquitoes in cooler places, such as Europe and North America.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    News Brief: Stress may break diet willpower

    A new study suggests stress can affect our behavior — and willpower — by making tasty foods look more irresistible.

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  8. Environment

    Nanosilver: Naughty or nice?

    Nanosilver is in many products, from socks to toothbrushes. The tiny particles kill microbes. But it’s still unclear whether they can harm us or the environment.

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  9. Genetics

    DNA: Our ancient ancestors had lots more

    Ancestral humans and their extinct relatives had much more DNA than do people today, a new study finds. It mapped genetic differences over time among 125 different human groups.

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  10. Environment

    Can house dust make us fat?

    Materials found in dust, including common fats, may trigger human fat cells to grow. This might promote weight gain, some scientists worry.

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  11. Agriculture

    Organic food starts to prove its worth

    Organic food often comes with a higher price. But research is showing that food grown this way can be better for the environment — and possibly for us.

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  12. Humans

    Jamestown: Unearthed graves tell tales of colony leaders

    The newly uncovered 400-year-old remains of four leaders of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia reveal details of the notable’s lives — and deaths.

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