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Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation U.S. Here are a few of our recently published stories:
I became a runner a bit later in life, when I was deep into my 30s. At first, it was just for exercise, then I got into 5Ks and 10Ks and eventually began training for the New York City Marathon. It was my second 26.2-miler, but I didn’t really train properly for my first. At my peak, I was running 50-some miles a week, motivated by personal achievement and the many health benefits of regular exercise. One thing I never thought about was athlete’s heart.
As cardiologist William Cornwell describes it in one of last week’s most-read articles, athlete’s or athletic heart is when people work out so much and so strenuously that their heart begins to remodel itself. The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus professor explains how various types of exercises alter the heart in different ways. “Athletic heart doesn’t necessarily cause problems, but in some people it can increase the risk of certain heart issues,” he writes.
Honestly, I don’t think I ever worked out enough to be at a real risk of athletic heart. But I do wonder if I witnessed the consequences firsthand about 17 years ago when I stumbled upon the U.S. men’s Olympic trials in Central Park one morning. During the race, in which some of the top American marathon runners zoomed around the park at paces of about 5 minutes a mile, one of them collapsed and died. It astounded me that someone in the best shape of his life could die like that. The autopsy showed the cause of death was due to an irregular heartbeat as a result of his scarred, enlarged heart.
But this is a real risk only for elite athletes. For the rest of us, Cornwell reminds us, “exercise undoubtedly remains one of, if not the best, methods to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” And most of us, including me, need to be doing more of it, not less. That’s also the message health and biomedicine editor Vivian Lam, who edited the story, hopes to leave you with.
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Bryan Keogh
Managing Editor
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Readers' picks
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An enlarged heart can lead to abnormal heart rhythms.
Professional Studio Images/E+ via Getty Images
William Cornwell, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
People who regularly engage in significant amounts of exercise, as endurance athletes do, may develop enlarged hearts. While athletic heart is adapted for performance, it can be cause for concern.
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C. Michael White, University of Connecticut
Long-term use of kratom may actually reduce pain tolerance and cause physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms.
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Rodney Coates, Miami University
Though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 officially ended racial discrimination in public places, relics of the Jim Crow South still haunt modern memory.
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Benjamin Schneer, Harvard Kennedy School; Kevin DeLuca, Yale University; Maxwell Palmer, Boston University
Electoral redistricting is a high-stakes political game, so Democrats and Republicans have a hard time playing fair. When they’re made to work together, a more representative result is possible.
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Wieteke Holthuijzen, University of Tennessee
On a small, remote island in the Pacific Ocean, an unlikely predator feasts on the world’s largest albatross colony. Researchers are trying to figure out how to stop these murderous mice.
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Editors' picks
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From ‘Russia with Love’ meets ‘Moonraker’?
Grigory Sysoev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Spenser A. Warren, University of California, San Diego
Russia isn’t likely to put nuclear missiles in space, but their reported anti-satellite weapon is just as alarming. An expert on nuclear strategy explains.
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William Nash, Middlebury
Her new songs are arriving at a moment when country music’s reputation as overwhelmingly white is finally starting to crack.
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Dennis M. Gorman, Texas A&M University
Pressure to ‘publish or perish’ and get results out as quickly as possible has led to weak study designs and shortened peer-review processes.
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Neil O'Brian, University of Oregon; Chandler James, University of Oregon
While young voters say they would be more likely to vote for Biden after they learn more about the economy and other topics, they did not appear affected by Donald Trump’s norm-defying behavior.
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Gabe Schwartzman, University of Tennessee
Large parts of Appalachia’s forests, once owned by coal companies, now make money for investors by storing carbon. But the results bring few jobs or sizable investments for residents.
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News Quiz 🧠
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Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. This week, a special "Where are you?" edition
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