Kids today don't spend enough time playing video games--at least, not the kinds that get them off the sofa. Several recent studies have found that playing active video games such as Dance Dance Revolution keeps the pounds off and improves fitness levels. As researchers continue to quantify the physical benefits, manufacturers plan to capitalize on the results, not only by releasing new titles and systems, but also by installing them in schools and pitching them to pediatricians in hopes that they will urge patients to use them. [More]

Tiger Woods could make $1.2 million more every year. How? If he'd spend less energy trying to avoid bogeys and aimed for more birdies (no, not the ones in the trees--a stroke under par), according to a forthcoming paper. [More]

People with memory problems who are depressed are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease compared to people who are not depressed, reports a new study. However, the research also shows that the popular Alzheimer's drug donepezil may delay the progression to Alzheimer's disease for depressed people who also suffer from mild cognitive impairment or memory problems.

Our tendency to see people and faces as individuals may explain why we are such experts at recognizing them, new research indicates. This approach can be learned and applied to other objects as well.

Specially engineered nanoparticles could someday target and destroy tumors, sparing patients from toxic, whole-body chemotherapies.

Scientists have shown that a key protein called p16INK4a is present in human blood and is strongly correlated both with chronological age and with certain behaviors such as tobacco use and physical inactivity, which are known to accelerate the aging process.

Geologists have shown that an ancient ice age, once regarded as a brief "blip," in fact lasted for 30 million years.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, you can get too much of a good thing. A favorite song can get downright annoying after a few dozen listens, and a preferred lunch can become old hat if packed too many times. [More]

Plants or meat: that's about all that fossils ever tell paleontologists about a dinosaur's diet. But the skull characteristics of a new species of parrot-beaked dinosaur and its associated gizzard stones indicate that the animal fed on nuts and/or seeds. These characteristics present the first solid evidence of nut-eating in any dinosaur.

A new theory on the role of developmental experiences has been described. Maternal perception of a threatening environment may be transmitted to the fetus when hormones cross the placenta and affect fetal physiology, effectively 'programming' the fetal stress response system and associated behaviors toward enhanced vigilance.