A devastating disease caused by airborne fungal spores is colonizing the Southwest in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “a silent epidemic.” The disease, coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, strikes more than 20,000 people per year in the region, 10 times the number it did 15 years ago. The spores live in the soil until wind lifts them […]
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Meditation doesn’t just improve mental and physical health in the present. It also slows the aging process, and can help meditators stay mentally sharp into old age, a new study has found. Once people reach their mid- to late 20s, their brains begin to lose volume and weight, which can eventually result in the loss of some functional ability. But […]
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People who use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more then two hours a day may be affecting people’s mental health. It has a tendency to make people feel isolated and lose connection with the real world. They have found that its not the technology that is affecting individuals but how people are using the technology. A lot […]
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People tormented by a neverending flow of negative thoughts can greatly benefit from an alternative to expensive psychotherapy or medications: a walk in the woods. Psychologists at Stanford University found that walking outdoors in natural settings can ward off the human tendency to harp on that breakup, layoff, or family problem. The study involved 38 city participants, some of which […]
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■ Chris Bires lost his wedding ring out of an act of charity, but a stranger’s charity helped him get it back. The 41-year-old had given a pocketful of coins to a street saxophonist while walking to work in Chicago, not noticing that he’d handed over his ring as well. When he returned to the spot, the musician was gone, […]
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Amsterdam ‘Scum villages’: Families that persistently behave badly and harass their neighbors are to be evicted from city-run housing projects and moved into trailer parks that have “minimal services” and are under constant police supervision. The new housing camps have been dubbed “scum villages” by the Dutch media, because the plan appears to echo a proposal by right-wing populist Geert […]
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Pyongyang, North Korea Pleasure squad: Now that the mourning period for his father Kim Jong II is over, dictator Kim Jong Un is creating a “pleasure squad” of pretty women. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim has ordered that young women be recruited from across North Korea and trained as singers, dancers, and concubines so they can entertain him […]
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■ A Good Samaritan from Macomb County, Mich., saved a baby’s life in a dramatic roadside rescue. Ryan Cornelissen, 21, was flagged down in his car by a man whose wife had just given birth on the way to the hospital. The man did not speak English well, but Cornelissen quickly saw that the baby wasn’t breathing. He dialed 911, […]
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“This is the worst shelter she had ever seen,” Clare Forndran, media director for Dog Tales Rescue and Sanctuary. More than 250 dogs were squeezed into a space designed for about 70. “Dogs were literally fighting over a loaf of bread,” Forndran said. “There were more rats than dogs.” Eden couldn’t choose which dogs would have a chance at new […]
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Training for a marathon and other extreme workouts may be more harmful than healthy. After reviewing over 50 studies, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that more than an hour of intense aerobic activity per day put runners and cyclists at heightened risk of serious heart problems, including an irregular heartbeat, clogged arteries, and scarring. Habitual marathon runners and professional […]
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