Science, Quickly

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MacArthur Genius Grant Winner Makes Waste a Resource Sep 29, 2015

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Environmental engineer Kartik Chandran of Columbia University won a MacArthur Fellowship for his work on extracting nutrients and energy from wastewater and sewage

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Ancient Human Ancestors Heard Differently Sep 25, 2015

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Early human species may have had sharper hearing in certain frequencies than we enjoy, to facilitate short-range communication in an open environment. Cynthia Graber reports

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Sitting Not the New Smoking for Fidgeters Sep 24, 2015

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Sitting for more than seven hours a day is linked to a 30 percent higher risk of death, but that association disappears among the in-place movers and shakers. Christopher Intagliata reports

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We Emit Clouds of Microbes Wherever We Go Sep 23, 2015

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Humans shed a million particles an hour, and those microbe-laced clouds are sometimes unique enough to identify the person producing them. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Teenage Clockmaker Upholds Long Scientific Tradition Sep 18, 2015

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As Daniel Boorstin, former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of History, once put it, clockmakers were the "pioneer scientific instrument makers"

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Nonpolitical Tweets May Reveal Political Bias Sep 17, 2015

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Word selection among Twitter users who could be identified as likely members of one or the other political party showed specific usage patterns. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Snake Bites in Costa Rica Peak with El Niño Cycling Sep 11, 2015

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Researchers found that snakebites were two to three times as prevalent in the hottest and coldest years of the El Niño climate cycle. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Sperm Whales Congregate in Click-Based Cliques Sep 10, 2015

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The whales appear to prefer the company of "like-minded" individuals, based on common vocal clicking behavior—an example of culture, researchers say. Christopher Intagliata reports

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Humans' Predation Unsustainably Takes Healthy Adult Prey Sep 09, 2015

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Whereas most predators kill the young or infirm, humans claim a disproportionate number of mature healthy adults of reproductive age

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Terse Titles Cited Aug 31, 2015

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Scientific papers with shorter titles receive more citations than those with long-winded headings

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