Why MRIs Don’t Lead to Better Cancer Survival

Women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer are faced with a tough choice — either to have parts of the affected breast removed, followed by several weeks of potentially toxic radiation therapy; or opt for mastectomy, removing the entire breast and contending with the disfigurement that entails. The decision typically rests on where and how widespread the tumors are. It’s no wonder, then, that more and more women are relying on high-tech MRI scans to help them examine their cancer and choose the right treatment

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Mastering the mental game

There is one man who will be pacing around the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota this week hoping to make it three majors in a row — but you won’t find his name when you trail your finger down the list of starters at the 91st PGA Championship. Though his presence may be unnoticed by spectators lining the fairways, his influence on the players he coaches is becoming far more conspicuous.

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Study: Tamiflu may do children more harm than good

Treating flu-stricken children with anti-viral medication including Tamiflu and Relenza could do more harm than good, a new report has warned. Researchers from the University of Oxford found that while the anti-virals reduced the duration of illness by up to one day and a half, they had “little or no effect” on the likelihood of the children developing complications. The researchers conceded that they didn’t know the extent to which their report applied to the current swine flu pandemic, but said, “based on current evidence, the effects of anti-virals on reducing the course of illness or preventing complications might be limited.” In compiling their report, published in the British Medical Journal, the Oxford University researchers searched the world for trials of Tamiflu and Relenza on children under 12.

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Extinction ‘Gene’: Why Some Species Are More at Risk

In the tree of life, we often envision evolution working like a patient gardener, pruning species that don’t quite fit, bit by bit. But that’s not how extinction works in practice. Throughout our planet’s history, mass extinction has occurred five times — most recently 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs finally died out — taking out vast amounts of life all at once, usually due to a catastrophic and sudden climatic change

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Hikers’ friend says they crossed into Iran by mistake

A friend of three American hikers arrested in Iran said he believes they had no knowledge they were nearing the Iranian border while hiking in Iraq, and made "a simple and regrettable mistake." Shon Meckfessel was with the three on a hiking trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, but had stayed behind at their hotel on July 31, the day the three went missing, because he had a cold. He issued a statement to media outlets on Thursday and confirmed its authenticity to CNN.

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