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Health

A black mamba strikes

Black Mamba Venom Beats Morphine as a Painkiller

Black mambas’ toxicity turns out to have applications other than rodent-killing

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How Mosquitoes Are Out-Smarting Humans

Mosquitoes have figured us out and have started biting during the daytime

California Governor Jerry Brown

California Bans ‘Cure The Gays’ Therapy

In California, it’s no longer legal to try to cure homosexual youth

Any large gathering of people, such as this one for Hajj in 2008, has the potential to facilitate the transfer of disease.

Just Before the Hajj, Two Patients Contract SARS-Like Virus

A new coronavirus has been spotted in Saudi Arabia

A scanning electron microscope image of the ancient tooth, and the location of the beeswax filling.

6,500-Year Old Beeswax May Be Oldest Known Dental Filling

From the archives of an Italian museum, researchers may have found the oldest dental filling

Doctors Warned Life Expectancy Could Go Down, And It Did

Some groups of Americans have actually seen their expected lifespans decline

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Does This Cat Know When You’re Going to Die?

Oscar the cat seems to know who will die and when - or perhaps he’s just looking for someone to pet him

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Who Really Has Six Percent Body Fat Anyway?

Paul Ryan shouldn’t be ashamed of his body fat, it’s probably lower than the average male, but it’s definitely not six percent

After a Four Year Fight, Scientists Announce No Link Between XMRV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What you need to know about the recent XMRV, chronic fatigue syndrome announcement

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The Deadly Side of Moonshine

The Czech Republic is issuing a ban on all alcoholic drinks with a 20% or higher alcohol content in the wake of 20 deaths

The Brazilian wandering spider

Could Spider Venom Be the Next Viagra?

Researchers are studying the surprising side effects of the banana spider’s bite

Acupuncture Barbie suffers from chronic pain.

Acupuncture Might Actually Work (Surprise! It Probably Doesn’t)

A recent study suggesting acupuncture is medically effective is not without flaws

This paper doll could end up with a nasty rash.

How Common Are Infections From Tattoo Ink?

A recent set of infections from tattoos has shed light on just how unregulated ink really is

In 2009, Getting a Seasonal Flu Shot Put You At Risk for That Year’s Pandemic Swine Flu

People who got the seasonal flu shot were more affected by the pandemic H1N1

Nature’s Sunscreen: A Big Bushy Beard

Beards block sunlight and could help prevent sunburns, but there may be side effects

New Camouflage Makeup Protects Soldiers From Bomb Burns

Soldiers are adding a new makeup to their war wardrobe that protects them from bomb blast burns

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Thalidomide Manufacturer Finally Apologizes for Birth Defects, Survivors Say It’s Not Enough

The German drug company Grunenthal broke its fifty year silence about thalidomide recently, but survivors aren’t satisfied

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We Have No Idea What Makes Us Happy

Psychologists say that humans don’t really know what makes them happy

The X-ray on the left shows one of the girls’ hands at 2-and-a-half-years old. On the right, her same hand is shown at 12-years old.

50-Year Mystery Surrounding Death of Two Sisters Solved

Doctors discover the genetic cause of an extremely rare, almost always fatal condition called Winchester syndrome

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Teen ‘Sick-Lit’ Should Leave Parents Feeling Queasy

The newly defined genre of “teen sick-lit” is awash with tear-jerking stories of ill adolescents who seek only to find the love of their life during their final days, but researchers say it reinforces negative stereotypes of the ill

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