Health & Medicine
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Health & MedicineFood choices matter in weight control
Potatoes and sugary soft drinks add pounds, a long-term analysis shows; fruit, yogurt and nuts help shed them.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineBrain has two slots for working memory
The left and right hemispheres have equal and independent capacity, monkey study finds.
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Health & MedicineMind-Controlled
Linking brain and computer may soon lead to practical prosthetics for daily life.
By Susan Gaidos -
Health & MedicineBody & Brain
The health benefits of wheat and olive oil, plus Down syndrome dementia, a heartbreaking gene and more in this week’s news.
By Science News -
HumansCouch potatoes: Where the risks lie
Several new studies finger television viewing as a potentially unhealthy pastime. I know, that hardly sounds surprising. For years, research has been linking hours in front of TV screens with an elevated risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, not to mention obesity. But what makes the recent spate of analyses different, researchers argue, is that they’re finally homing in on consistent estimates of the magnitude of risks — and hints at what underlies them.
By Janet Raloff -
LifeKetamine’s antidepressant effect explained
A potential fast-acting treatment boosts the brain chemical BDNF, which may be lacking in depression.
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HumansHuman mutation rate slower than thought
First direct measurements show that the number of genetic typos inherited from each parent can be highly skewed toward either mom or dad.
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Health & MedicineBody & Brain
Fat joins suite of tastes, plus crossword vision, metastasis clues and more in this week’s news.
By Science News -
HumansTraditional Chinese medicine: Big questions
Just because traditional Chinese medicines have been used for a long time is no guarantee they’re efficacious or safe. How would we know? It turns out this question is hard to answer — even for the Chinese.
By Janet Raloff -
LifeGenetics offers more hints about autism
Three studies illustrate why a single cause for autism spectrum disorders has been so difficult to pin down.
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