HAIFA, Israel – paralyzed for the past 20 years, former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof now walks down the street with a dim mechanical hum. That is the sound of an electronic exoskeleton moving the 41-year-old's legs and propelling him forward – with a proud expression on his face – as passersby stare in surprise.

Infections may cause many premature births: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Undiagnosed infections may be causing a significant number of premature births, researchers reported on Monday after finding bacteria or fungi in 15 percent of the amniotic fluid samples taken from women in pre-term labor. The heavier the infection, the more likely the women were to deliver younger, sicker infants, the team at Stanford University in California found.

Hurricane Gustav takes aim at Gulf

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Hurricane Gustav hit the southern coast of vulnerable Haiti on Tuesday and could become the first major storm to threaten U.S. oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico since the devastating 2005 hurricane season. Oil futures rallied sharply as traders watched Gustav's potential threat to U.S. energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico and were up around 1 percent by mid-afternoon.

Tests clear way for “Big Bang” experiment

GENEVA (Reuters) – Tests have cleared the way for the start-up next month of an experiment to restage a mini-version underground of the “Big Bang” which created the universe 15 billion years ago, the project chief said on Monday. Lyn Evans of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said weekend trials in the vast underground LHC machine in which the particle-smashing experiment will take place over the coming months and years “went without a hitch.”

Monkeys experience joy of giving, too, study finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Monkeys can experience the joy of giving in much the same way as humans do, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Tests in capuchin monkeys showed the animals consistently chose to share food with another monkey if given the option, suggesting they are capable of empathy, the team at the Yerkes Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta found.

Deer, cattle have true animal magnetism: study

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Grazing cattle and sleeping deer tend to align their bodies along the North-South axis of the Earth's magnetic field, European researchers said on Monday, giving new meaning to the phrase animal magnetism. Herdsmen and hunters have long known that cattle and sheep tend to face the same direction when grazing, but had believed they were simply positioning themselves according to prevailing winds or the sun's rays.

Fay weakens to depression after drenching Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Fay was downgraded to a tropical depression late on Saturday after making a record fourth landfall in Florida and drenching the state's northern panhandle with heavy rainfall. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm, which killed 11 people as it crisscrossed Florida for the past week, could bring more heavy rains and flooding in the next several days as it moves west into Alabama and Mississippi.

Tropical storm Julio hits Mexico's Baja California

LOS CABOS (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Julio drenched Mexico's Baja California on Sunday and hundreds of residents fled poor neighborhoods that were in danger of flooding near the popular tourist resort of Los Cabos. The storm was earlier reported to be carrying winds of 50 mph (80 kph) over the eastern Pacific Ocean before it hit the southern tip of the Baja California