All Stories by Esther Landhuis
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Health & MedicineExercise builds brawn — and brains
One 20-minute session of leg exercises improved memory recall by about 10 percent.
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TechRepelling germs with ‘sharkskin’
A biotechnology company has found a way to repel superbugs without toxic chemicals. It mimics the texture of a shark’s skin.
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TechPlants ‘listen’ for danger
Scientists used lasers to show that plants can “hear” insect pests. Those leafy plants then mount a chemical attack in response to the bug’s chewing sounds — but not toward harmless noises such as a gentle breeze or a bug’s mating call.
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MicrobesThe war on superbugs
Doctors and scientists are exploring ways to stem the growing global crisis of antibacterial resistance.
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MicrobesExplainer: What you can do to fight antibiotic resistance
Doctors and scientists are not the only people who can help preserve the effectiveness of life-saving antibiotics. Even patients have a role to play, as these tips show.
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MicrobesSuperbugs: A silent health emergency
Have antibiotics become too popular? Overusing these medicines fuels resistant germs that pose a global health threat.
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MicrobesExplainer: Where antibiotics came from
A mold proved the source of the first known antibiotic: penicillin. But chemical dyes would lead to the first antibiotics used in treating people.
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PlantsWily bacteria create ‘zombie’ plants
Scientists have discovered how some plant pathogens ensure their own survival by transforming flowering plants into strictly leaf-producing ones. These green ‘zombies’ attract insects that the parasites need to help them spread to other plants.
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FossilsScary ‘chicken’ roamed Earth with T. rex
Scientists have just pieced together evidence of a weird new dinosaur that sported sharp claws, feathers and a beak. And it just may have been one of the last dinos to roam Earth about 67 million years ago.
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Health & MedicineSome of chocolate’s health benefits may trace to ‘bugs’
Dark chocolate offers people a number of health benefits. A new study finds that the breakdown of chocolate by microbes in the human gut be behind some benefits.