Science Advances · 7 August 2026 · From issue 17

Steppe productivity decline contributed to smallpox outbreak and the collapse of the last nomadic empire in the 1750s

Tree rings show the worst grassland decline in 400 years hit right as a nomadic empire fell.

Wanru Tang, Keyan Fang et al.

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Also in issue 17 15 papers

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In mice, fixing shrunken cell antennas in the brain's fear center eased stress behaviors.
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Joining social media before grade 9 lowered later test scores in Italian, English and math.
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A new blood test tracks physical changes in immune cells linked to clogged arteries.
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In a computer model, life on other planets could photosynthesize much farther from their star than Earth's plants can.
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A diluted battery liquid cut zinc battery idle power loss by more than ten times.
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A single psilocybin dose cut depression scores far more than a placebo in hard to treat depression.
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Fruit and honey sugars, not just meat, may have fueled brain growth in early human ancestors.
Science
Dining out cut social isolation by 47.3% compared to staying in home neighborhoods.
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In lab tests, a catalyst material breaks down step by step before reaching its final form.
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People give fast robots more personal space than people, but crowding shrinks that gap.
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In human cells, removing an RNA cleanup protein changed how DNA loops connect genes to their switches.
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