Stanford SciCast

The population of people age 65 and older in the U.S. accounted for 13 percent of the total population in 2010. By 2030, that number is projected to represent nearly 20% of the total U.S. population, and, for the first time in human history, people age 65 and older will outnumber children under the age of 5. This changing demographic has important implications for policy, the economy, and society as a whole.

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For several years, California has been struggling through the most severe drought in the state’s recorded history. In January 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought State of Emergency, calling on California residents to reduce water consumption as much as possible as we wait for desperately needed rain. So, where is the precipitation?

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It happens around this time every year. Millions of Americans come down with the flu. This is partially because there are numerous strains of influenza, and health authorities can really only make an educated guess as to which strains of the flu we should prepare to vaccinate against each year. What we need is a vaccine that can protect against all the strains of the virus. We need a Universal Flu Vaccine.

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When it comes to exercise, is more always better? That’s what Stanford professor Eswar Krishnan and his team investigated in their study of the most intense runners around—ultra marathon runners. Regular 26.2-mile marathons just don’t cut it for these extreme athletes.

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If you are currently picking your nose, you may want to stop and listen up. For many years, we have known that Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly referred to as Staph, resides within our noses. Normally Staph is harmless, but if it reaches the bloodstream it can have life threatening effects like sepsis and heart valve damage.

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Think all of that goo-goo gaga baby talk is useless? Think again. A new study in Psychological Science by Stanford psychologist Anne Fernald revealed that infants with greater exposure to child-directed speech learn new words and sharpen their verbal skills more quickly, resulting in benefits for vocabulary learning.

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