The human brain is adept at linking seemingly random details into a cohesive memory that can trigger myriad associations — some good and some not so good.

For recovering addicts or individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), unwanted memories can make recovery difficult. For example, former meth addicts report intense drug cravings triggered by associations with cigarettes, money, even gum, which makes them more likely to stumble during recovery.

Scientists have been able to erase drug-associated memories in mice and rats without affecting other more benign memories. Their discovery points to a clear and workable method to disrupt unwanted memories while leaving the rest intact.

Changing the Structure of Memory

Attila E. Pavlath, Ph.D., who turned fresh-cut apple slices into a popular convenience food, outlined advances in keeping other foods fresh, flavorful and safe for longer periods of time through the use of invisible, colorless, odorless, tasteless coatings.

Since Medicaid paid for 45 percent of the 4 million births in the United States in 2010, and that has been rising steadily, a new paper says that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expanding Medicaid even more may lead to improved coverage of well-woman and maternity care — and perhaps result in better health outcomes.

Previously, data on Medicaid funding of births did not exist in a comprehensive form so the authors collected all such data on Medicaid births from individual states during the years 2008 to 2010.

Trailer park residents are one of the few demographics it's still okay to stereotype but, as is usually the case, low-income trailer park residents form distinct groups with different visions of morality, according to a new paper. In other words, they are no more easy to quantify than anyone else.

Dingoes have been unfairly blamed for the extinctions of the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine) and the Tasmanian devil, a new study has found.

The Australian dingo is commonly blamed for the demise of thylacines and devils on the mainland about 3,000 years ago but Aboriginal populations and a shift in climate were more likely responsible.

The researchers created mathematical models to replicate the dynamic interaction between the main potential drivers of extinction (dingoes, climate and humans), the long-term response of herbivore prey, and the viability of the thylacine and devil populations.

The models included interactions and competition between predators as well as the influence of climate on vegetation and prey populations.

A mass grave in an artificial cave in the historical Maya city of Uxu has uncovered the skeletons of 24 people in an approximately 32 square meter artificial cave that had formerly been used as a water reservoir.

"Aside from the large number of interred individuals, it already became apparent during the excavation that the skeletons were no longer in their original anatomical articulation," says archaeologist Nicolaus Seefeld from the University of Bonn.

Translation:They were decapitated and dismembered around 1,400 years ago.