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More Stories:
Can We Learn to Beat the Reaper?
Science has been winning battles against old age, but can it win the war?
Too Heavy, Too Young
Obesity is rapidly becoming the major health crisis of the next generation. What parents can do to help kids control their own weight
Walk Don't Run
It's simple, it's cheap, and studies show that walking may be the best exercise for reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
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MAMMOGRAPHY
The logic of early detection seems hard to argue against; after all, the sooner you catch a cancer, the better your chances of nipping it in the bud. That's why for decades doctors have been recommending breast self-examination and annual mammograms for women over 40. But an analysis of several large studies late last year cast doubt on the conventional wisdom, suggesting that the presumed benefits of early detection were based on flawed studies. The American Cancer Society, however, was quick to point to other studies indicating that mammographic screening reduces mortality even more than previously thought.
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MEMORY LOSS
Lost keys, confusion in the parking lot and more and more stories that start "Did I ever tell you ... ?" They may be harbingers of something serious like Alzheimer's. Or maybe not. What clinicians call "mild cognitive impairment" can be caused by trauma, depression or the side effects of medication. While not all cases of MCI lead inexorably to dementia, new studies suggest that a substantial number do. There are no drugs to prevent Alzheimer's, but there are treatments for MCI that can slow deterioration and preserve mental function a little longer.
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MOUSEPOX VIRUS
It was an accidental discovery, but it could hardly be called serendipitous. By adding a single gene to its DNA, Australian researchers turned a mousepox virus that normally causes only mild symptoms in rodents into a virulent killer that wiped out all their lab mice in less than 10 days. Alarms were sounded, not over the prospect of mouse plague but out of concern that rogue scientists might use the technique to create human pathogens even more lethal than anthrax or smallpox.
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