Mistfrogs rediscovered, and more

Armoured Mistfrogs are not extinct

A tiny frog species, thought to have been extinct since 1991, has been found in the tropical forests of northern Australia. Scientists believed that the 1.5-inch-long Armoured Mistfrog had been wiped out by a deadly fungus that had infested Queensland state. But two months ago, a researcher from James Cook University came across what seemed to be several members of the elusive species, and last week, DNA tests confirmed that they were mistfrogs. “I’ve never had anything like this in my career before,” said amphibian expert Ross Alford.

Barbara Buchan's Olympic triumph

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Barbara Buchan’s dreams of being an Olympic cyclist ended in July 1982, when she suffered a near-fatal bike crash during a road race. She went into a coma for two months, lost a quarter of her left temporal brain, and endured five operations that rebuilt her skull with titanium plates. Doctors feared she might never speak or walk again. But she never gave up. Last week Buchan, the oldest member of the U.S. Paralympic team at 52, won a gold medal in the 3,000-meter cycling event at the Beijing Paralympic games—in record time. “You can get very upset at the world and have everyone take care of you,” Buchan said, “or get back on your feet again.”

Dog saves ill neighbor

When Linda Deutsch tried last week to take her 5-year-old dog Lexi for a walk from her Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment, the bichon frise refused to get on the elevator. Instead, she kept tugging on her leash, pulling Deutsch toward apartment 4-L. Lexi had apparently heard the faint cries of 85-year-old Charles Postler, who had collapsed and was lying on the floor, helpless. Paramedics were called and Postler has since recovered. Postler said that Lexi had probably recognized his voice. “I’ve taken care of her a few times,” he said, “and she always comes to me.”