Humans
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Health & Medicine
The secret of fast runners: symmetry
Science had shown that animals and people with symmetrical bodies tend to be stronger and healthier. Now researchers find they can predict the best sprinters by measuring the top runners’ knees.
By Ilima Loomis -
Microbes
Germs help each other fend off antibiotics
Drug-resistant bacteria can cause persistent infections. A new study finds these germs fight drugs in different ways. And they can swap various compounds, increasing their neighbors’ chances of overcoming the drugs meant to kill them.
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Humans
Stone Age stencils: Really old art
Scientists thought that cave art started in Europe. New analyses now dash that assessment. Stencils in an Indonesian cave are every bit as old as the better-known drawings in caves in France and Spain.
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Health & Medicine
Pills of frozen poop fight killer disease
Popping poop pills? Of course it sounds yucky. But researchers find it might just be one of the most effective ways to knock out a very serious — and tough-to-kill — intestinal disease.
By Janet Raloff -
Microbes
Explainer: What is C. difficile?
Over the past two decades, these severe bacterial infections have evolved from a no-big-deal occurrence to a common, life-threatening problem.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & Medicine
Strong body helps the mind
Study finds new link between the body and brain in mice and may help explain how exercise heals.
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Health & Medicine
Exercise builds brawn — and brains
One 20-minute session of leg exercises improved memory recall by about 10 percent.
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Health & Medicine
News Brief: First cases of Ebola acquired outside Africa
Health workers who had worn extensive protective gear still became infected with Ebola while treating patients in Spain and the United States.
By Janet Raloff -
Brain
The distracted teenage brain
Teens often show poor judgment in decision-making. Scientists have long blamed this on the fact that their brains are still developing. A new study offers another explanation: distractions form rewarding behaviors — ones that persist even after the reward itself has disappeared.
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Health & Medicine
Artificial sweeteners may evict good gut microbes
People use saccharin and other artificial sweeteners to try to stay healthy. A study now suggests such sweeteners might actually cause harm by encouraging the wrong bacteria to grow in our guts.
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Health & Medicine
News Brief: U.S. gets its first Ebola case
Although U.S. hospitals have treated a handful of American health-care workers who had become exposed to Ebola in Africa, the first case of a sick traveller has emerged. His Ebola infection showed no symptoms until several days after he reached Texas. (Update: On October 8, the man died.)
By Nathan Seppa -
Archaeology
Pyramids’ blocks: Possibly rock ‘n’ rolled
No one knows how the ancient Egyptians moved the big stones needed to build their pyramids. A new study suggests they could have rolled them, by attaching wooden posts to the sides.