Health

Carcinogenic material was used as a finish coating in this painting.

Byzantine Monks Built Walls With Asbestos, Too

In millennia past, asbestos has also been used to make stronger pottery and flame-proof napkins

Heat Increases the Risk of Early-Term Delivery

As temperatures rise, delivery rooms see a peak in early-term babies

"An illustration showing various ways that a water well (center) may become infected by typhoid fever bacteria."

Science Rewrites the Death of America’s Shortest-Serving President

William Henry Harrison may have died of typhoid fever

The Prescription for Rheumatism Used to Be to Sit Inside a Rotting Whale for 30 Hours

The treatment's efficacy, however, remains questionable

This Hospital Door Handle Doubles As a Hand Sanitizer

This way, infections don't spread as easily—and no one has to remember to Purel their hands

You Can Watch the First Ever Operation to Transplant a 3D-Printed Skull Into a Person's Head

The operation, which took place on a 22-year-old Dutch woman, was a success

There's an Actual Scientific Reason Not to Pee in the Pool

When urine mixes with chlorine, potentially harmful substances can result

Five Health Benefits of Standing Desks

Spending more of your day standing could reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer

So Far, E-Cigarettes Don't Seem to Have Inspired Many Smokers to Quit

E-cigarette users were no more or less likely to quit than smokers who stuck with tobacco

Zebrafish embryo

A Scan of a Mechanical Heart Pump Fitted in a Live Human and Other Eerily Beautiful Scientific Images

From a photo of a tick biting flesh to a closeup of a kidney stone, the 18 winners of the 2014 Wellcome Image Awards highlight objects we don't usually see

Air Pollution Contributes to One in Eight Deaths

The World Health Organization says air pollution is the leading environmental hazard

What Does Your Earwax Smell Like?

Your earwax's odor is unique

Why Dark Chocolate Is Not Just Delicious But Good For Us

It turns out the microbes in our guts love dark chocolate, too

A vertebrae from the remains, with a close-up of a cancerous growth (indicated by white arrows).

This 3,000-Year-Old Human Skeleton Reveals the Earliest Known Example of Cancer

Skeletal scans of the remains, which were found in Sudan, shows the cancer had spread before the victim died

Give Rats THC, And Their Kids' Brains Look Different

The progeny of rats that were exposed to marijuana show some differences

Fallen trees in Chernobyl's infamous red forest.

Forests Around Chernobyl Aren’t Decaying Properly

It wasn't just people, animals and trees that were affected by radiation exposure at Chernobyl, but also the decomposers: insects, microbes, and fungi

Why Google Flu Trends Can't Track the Flu (Yet)

The vaunted big data project falls victim to periodic tweaks in Google's own search algorithms

The Intel Science Talent Search honored the top winner and nine esteemed runners-up of its 2014 competition at a black-tie affair in Washington, D.C.

These Teenagers Have Already Accomplished More Than You Ever Will

The winners of this year's Intel Science Talent Search take on flu vaccines, stem cells and tools for diagnosing cancer

Activity Bands Can See You Run, But Not Deadlift

Bands are good at walking and running, but lose their accuracy for other types of exercise

There Are Indeed Side Effects to Sword Swallowing

From "sword throat" to putting a hole in your pharynx, sword swallowing comes with a few risks

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