This Just In

A roundup of new and noteworthy insights from the week’s most talked-about studies:

1 FORGETTING THINGS CAN MAKE YOU SMARTER

A scientific paper in Neuron argued that forgetting outdated memories lets the brain clear out details that don’t matter so people can adapt to newer information and make more intelligent decisions.

2 LIGHT-ROAST COFFEE MAY BE BETTER FOR YOU THAN DARK ROAST

A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that lighter coffee roasts had higher levels of chlorogenic acid–which acts as an antioxidant–than darker coffee roasts, and that light-roast extract was better at protecting human cells against inflammation and damage.

3 TEENS ARE AS INACTIVE AS OLDER PEOPLE

A study in Preventive Medicine found that adolescents grew less active throughout their teen years, with 19-year-olds spending as much time being sedentary as 60-year-olds. Half of teenage boys and 75% of teenage girls did not meet exercise recommendations of an hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity a day.

–J.Z.