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How to Live Long and Prosper: Get Dirty?
Live Science — Germs go both ways, helping our health at times and killing us at others. A new study suggests they might give the gift of a long life, at least to fruit flies. Early exposure to bacteria makes these banana-peel denizens live to the ripe age of ...More…
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Four-Decade Study: Americans Taller, Fatter
Live Science — Americans are growing up and out, according to a new report on changes in height and weight since 1960. Both men and women in the United States are roughly an inch taller and 25 pounds heavier than they were in 1960, the study concludes. A ...More…
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Cola Wars Fought in the Brain
Live Science — One soft drink advertisement commands, "Obey your thirst," but your taste buds may get trumped by the sway of brand names. All those commercials and jingles and celebrity endorsements get stored in the brain, apparently biasing preferences, new ...More…
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What is a Hemorrhoid?
Live Science — Hemorrhoids, though hard to spell, are often easy to find. They sometimes stick out of that place with the same name as the 7th planet of the solar system, not so much for all to see but for the afflicted to definitely feel. They itch, they burn, ...More…
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Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?
Live Science — Carving vegetables into scary faces then lighting them is an odd kind of custom that just The Irish do not disappoint. Folks there have a legend of a drunken farmer, whose dealings with the devil led to him being turned back at both the gates of ...More…
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Why Do Men Go Bald?
Live Science — Male Pattern Hair Loss (MPHL) follows from a one-two punch of genetic influence (probably related to more than one gene, and not necessarily from the maternal side) and hormonal changes in adulthood. The male hormone dihydrotestosterone causes ...More…
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Creature Prefers Deadly Scorching Water
Live Science — Scientists find worms with highest temperature preference of all known animals. A small hydrothermal vent chimney is home to thermo-tolerant worms, seen here at the base of the chimney with their star-shaped gills protruding from their tubes. The ...More…
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Laos Home to Two New Frog Species
Live Science — Several recent discoveries have showcased this country as a treasure spot for wildlife. The Rana compotrix, one of two new frog species found in Lao PDR. Credit: Nikolai Orlov Scientists have recently identified two new species of frogs in the ...More…
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Grammar Revealed in the Love Songs of Whales
Live Science — The love song of a humpback whale sounds magnificently free-flowing and improvised to the casual human listener. But fresh mathematical analysis of shows there are complex grammatical rules. Using syntax, the whales combine sounds into phrases, ...More…
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Whale Vocabulary More Elaborate Than Thought
Live Science — Scientists discover 35 different sounds, including grumbles, snorts and cries. Humpback whales possess a vastly more elaborate vocabulary than was known, researchers now report. Scientists had previously known of a very narrow range of sounds ...More…
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Ship Slices Another Endangered Whale
Live Science — A rare North Atlantic right whale was lacerated multiple times and killed by a ship off the Georgia coast, causing scientists to again sound the alarm on these endangered creatures. The right whale found dead on Dec. 30, 2006 off the coast of ...More…
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The Northeast is Moving South
Live Science — North America is constantly on the move, and the latest discovery of geologic creep has surprised scientists. Illustration depicting horizontal movements of Earth's crust in North America due to post-glacial rebound. credit: Eric Calais/Purdue ...More…