Health
A Flourishing Microbial Community Dwells Within Your Belly Button
A team of researchers dug into 60 different people's belly buttons and found bacterial diversity and microbial mystery
November 12, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Identical Twins Aren’t So Identical – Which Makes Twin Studies Harder
As twins grow and develop, each will acquire his or her own set of mutations - which could throw a wrench into twin studies
November 12, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Blind Humans Can Learn To Sense Like a Rat With Whiskers
Finger-censor "whiskers" could someday help blind people sense surrounding objects like a rodent
November 08, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Blind Mole Rats’ Cells Self-Destruct Before They Can Turn Cancerous
Researchers tease out the secret behind blind mole rats' resistance to cancer
November 08, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
A Conservative Estimate For Dengue Fever Infections in India: 37 Million Each Year
Dengue fever is become more common worldwide, and India has been particularly hard hit
November 07, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
What Can We Learn From the Porn Industry About HIV?
Before getting naked and having sex in front of a camera, porn stars have to go through three checks - all for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases
November 06, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Hunt for Ebola
A CDC team races to Uganda just days after an outbreak of the killer virus to try to pinpoint exactly how it is transmitted to humans
November 2012 |
By Joshua Hammer
If You Eat Too Much Silver, Your Skin Acts Like a Black-and-White Photo
A complex chemical reaction is responsible for argyria, the condition in which a person turns a deep shade of blue
October 31, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
In Sandy’s Wake, Watch Out for Pollution
Potentially contaminated water pooled in the streets could be a health risk
October 31, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Women Can’t Do Pull Ups? Not So Fast
With enough training and determination, women can do pull-ups
October 26, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Don’t Let the Ear Mites Bite
The New England Journal of Medicine recently posted this horror-inducing video of ear mites crawling around in some poor 70-year-old man's ear
October 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Five Kid Concussions in One Game Have Parents Questioning Pop Warner Football
Those concussions have hurtled this game to the forefront of the ongoing debate surrounding kids and football
October 23, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
PHOTOS: The Distressing Worldwide Boom in Cosmetic Surgery
Photographer Zed Nelson traveled the world documenting how body improvement has practically become a new religion
October 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
People Leave Hospitals Unhappy Because Doctors Are Mean
Many patients leave the emergency room unhappy because they feel belittled or ignored
October 19, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Brain-Eating Crows May Help Spread Prion Diseases
Prions - the infectious proteins that cause illnesses in humans and other animals such as mad cow disease - can pass through the digestive systems of crows
October 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Germophobes Take Note: Your Pillowcase Is As Dirty As Your Toilet
Bacterial swabs from toilet seats and pillowcases are pretty much indistinguishable
October 18, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
What Makes Temple Grandin’s Brain Special?
Temple Grandin, perhaps the world's most famous person with autism, allowed scientists to peak into her exceptional brain for the first time in order to better understand the minds of savants
October 17, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Downer News Bums Out Women But Not Men
Bad news delivered through the media increases women's sensitivity to stressful situations, new research finds, but men are immune to such effects
October 12, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Report Suggests Armstrong Not Just a Doper But a Pusher
Sources close to Armstrong have come forward admitting that not only did he dope, but he was at the center of the doping world
October 11, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Brain-Invading Amoebas Kill Ten in Pakistan
Since the 1960s, Naegleria fowleri - a water-borne amoeba with a 98 percent fatality rate when it invades through the nose - has claimed around 150 lives, including 10 recently in Pakistan
October 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
