Newfound fossils spill Denisovan secrets
Teeth and bone bits from a cave in China represent the richest fossil trove outside Siberia
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Amara Okafor
31 STORIESAmara follows markets, economic policy, changing workplaces and the small businesses reshaping city life.
Shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction gains popularity despite limited evidence
Shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction has little evidence but many fans. Clinics offer low-energy sound waves; leading physician groups say evidence is not strong enough outside clinical trials.
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Personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine may keep cancer from returning, companies say
An experimental personalized mRNA vaccine, given with the immunotherapy Keytruda, helped high-risk melanoma patients remain cancer free longer than Keytruda alone in a large clinical trial, Moderna and Merck announced August 19. The companies have not released trial data; earlier studies found the combination halved the risk of recurrence or death. The therapeutic vaccine does not prevent melanoma but trains the immune system against a patient's tumor.
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Personalized brain stimulation can ease chronic pain
A small case series suggests that mapping an individual’s pain signals in the brain and then delivering precise electrical stimulation may interrupt severe chronic pain, though results varied among three participants.
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Massive study unveils genetic underpinnings of fibromyalgia
Analysis of 2.5 million people points to mostly neurological genes linked to the pain disorder, scientists report in Nature Medicine, though the variants are not diagnostic and the dataset does not represent all ancestries.
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Skin chemistry may affect which mosquitoes are most attracted to you
Researchers report July 30 in iScience that three mosquito species preferred different groups of people based on components of body chemistry and skin microbiome. In a study of 119 volunteers, Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus showed distinct attraction patterns, with no one strongly attracting all three species.
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