ALICIA CHANG

AP Science Writer
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Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD

Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

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Splash! NASA moon crash struck lots of water

The lunar dud for space enthusiasts has become a watershed event for NASA.

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Studies: Some nursing home elderly get futile care

A surprising number of frail, elderly Americans in nursing homes are suffering from futile care at the end of their lives, two new federally funded studies reveal.

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Method to monitor quake fault strength eyed

Scientists are releasing results of a study aimed at gauging the strength of earthquake faults, which could help them pinpoint weak ones at risk of breaking and unleashing temblors.

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Study: Flu shot better than nasal spray in adults

Hate to get flu shots? A new comparison of flu vaccines gives adults a good reason to roll up their sleeves and get a jab in the arm instead of a squirt in the nose.

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Doubling chemo dose helped leukemia patients

Adults with a common form of leukemia had a better chance of remission if they got a double dose of a long-used cancer drug, two new studies found.

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Two-thirds get medical tests with radiation dose

As many as two-thirds of adults underwent a medical test in the last few years that exposed them to radiation and in some cases, a potentially higher risk of cancer, a study in five areas of the U.S. suggests.

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New blood tests find heart attacks quicker, better

A new generation of blood tests can quickly and reliably show if a person is having a heart attack soon after chest pains start — a time when current tests are not definitive, two studies found.

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Autistic teens master social cues, find friends

Thirteen-year-old Andrea Levy ticked off a mental list of rules to follow when her guest arrived: Greet her at the door. Introduce her to the family. Offer a cold drink.

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Vaccine shows promise against typhoid fever

A typhoid vaccine proved effective in the slums of India, where it not only helped prevent infection in children who received it, but also those in close contact who were unvaccinated, a new study found.

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Study: Seniors see savings in Medicare drug option

Medicare's 3-year-old prescription drug plan has largely met its main goal of making lifesaving medicines more affordable for seniors, a new report found.

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HOT ISSUE: Should we deliberately move species?

On naked patches of land in western Canada and United States, scientists are planting trees that don't belong there. It's a bold experiment to move trees threatened by global warming into places where they may thrive amid a changing climate.

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Mysterious tremors detected on San Andreas Fault

Scientists have detected a spike in underground rumblings on a section of California's San Andreas Fault that produced a magnitude-7.8 earthquake in 1857.

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Michael Jackson's health woes took center stage

Over Michael Jackson's chart-topping music career, his health has commanded as much publicity as his hit songs.

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US, Europe look to partnership on Mars exploration

For almost half a century, the United States has dominated the exploration of Mars from the first grainy black-and-white pictures of the craggy surface to the more recent discovery of ice.

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Study: Heat effective in treating throat condition

Zapping away abnormal, precancerous cells in the throat may lower the risk of later developing esophageal cancer, the first major study to test this technique finds.

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Hospitals, doctors deal with swine flu jitters

Concerns about a possible pandemic have sent people streaming into crowded emergency rooms and walk-in clinics — not with swine flu, but the swine flu jitters.

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Studies: Drug shows promise against hepatitis C

An experimental drug greatly increased the number of people who appear to be cured of hepatitis C infection, according to results of mid-stage testing. The findings also suggest the drug telaprevir, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which sponsored the two studies, can cut treatment time from one year to six months. However, those taking the drug reported more side effects including severe rash, nausea and anemia than those on standard treatment alone.

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Quake scientists focus on the southern San Andreas

An arid expanse of California desert at the southern end of the notorious San Andreas Fault is being wired with high-tech sensors that scientists hope will tell them when the state's sleeping giant could awaken.

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Study: Male circumcision helps prevent 2 STDs

Circumcision not only protects against HIV in heterosexual men, but it also helps prevent two other sexually transmitted infections, a large new study found. Circumcised males reduced their risk of infection with HPV, or human papillomavirus, by 35 percent and herpes by 28 percent. However, researchers found circumcision had no effect on the transmission of syphilis.

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Study: Few US hospitals use digital records

U.S. hospitals have a long way to go to join the digital age. Fewer than 2 percent have abandoned paper medical charts and completely switched to electronic health records, a new national survey found.

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Study: Some prenatal vitamins lack enough iodine

Many brands of multivitamins for pregnant women may not contain all the iodine they claim, potentially putting babies at risk of poor brain development, a new study suggests.

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Low-carb? Low-fat? Study finds calories count more

Low-fat, low-carb or high-protein? The kind of diet doesn't matter, scientists say. All that really counts is cutting calories and sticking with it, according to a federal study that followed people for two years. However, participants had trouble staying with a single approach that long and the weight loss was modest for most.

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Q&A about the Calif. octuplet mom and her children

How did California octuplet mom Nadya Suleman wind up having eight babies? Here are some questions and answers about the births of the world's longest-living octuplets:

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Study: Cleaner air adds 5 months to US life span

Cleaner air over the past two decades has added nearly five months to average life expectancy in the United States, according to a federally funded study. Researchers said it is the first study to show that reducing air pollution translates into longer lives.

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