Medicine
Extroverted Gorillas Live Longer Than Shy Ones
For gorillas, it pays to have personality. Extroverted gorillas in captivity outlive their shy friends, according to a new study of the animals in North American zoos and sanctuaries, reports LiveScience. To arrive at this conclusion, researchers used methods adapted from studying human personality. They analyzed data from 298 gorillas over 18 years of the [...]
December 06, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Does Blood Doping Even Work?
A recent study found no evidence that using blood doping drugs gives elite athletes any advantage
December 06, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Why Senior Citizens May Be Overly Trusting
Out ability to judge the trustworthiness of faces diminishes with age, a new study shows
December 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Blame Napoleon for Our Addiction to Sugar
Prior to 1850, sugar was a hot commodity that only society's most wealthy could afford
December 04, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Grandpa Jetson is Way Cooler Than Grandpa Simpson
Montague Jetson is 110 years old--and loving it
December 04, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Could a Computer Out-Diagnose Dr. House?
Could computers may make diagnostic wizardry a thing of the past?
December 04, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Open-Fire Stoves Kill Millions. How Do We Fix it?
Pollutants from crude stoves are responsible for many deaths – a D.C.-based NGO has a solution
December 2012 |
By Ingfei Chen
Pardis Sabeti, the Rollerblading Rock Star Scientist of Harvard
The recipient of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for natural sciences blazed a new view of how to treat infectious diseases via genetics
December 2012 |
By Seth Mnookin
Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer
A high school sophomore won the youth achievement Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for inventing a new method to detect a lethal cancer
December 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
Photos: A Last Look at Fall
Before the weather turns cold, take one last walk in the woods with these beautiful autumn photos submitted by our readers
December 2012 |
By Smithsonian.com
Humans Have Been Evolving Like Crazy Over the Past Few Thousand Years
The past 5 to 10 thousand years have seen a surge in human genetic diversity
November 29, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Voluntary Guidelines Aren’t Enough To Prevent Deaths From Bed Rails
At least 150 people have died in bed rail-related incidents over the past 9 years
November 26, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Tick Bites Cause Freak Allergy to Meat Eating
In addition to acting as vectors for diseases, ticks are now identified as the likely culprit of a new bane specific to carnivores: causing an allergic reaction to meat
November 21, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Dog Paralysis Reversed With Cells From Pooch’s Nose
Good news for partially paralyzed pooches (and maybe someday, humans): scientists can now reverse that affliction by injecting dogs with cells grown from the lining of their nose
November 20, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Fish on Prozac Are Violent And Obsessive
Prozac is seeping out of sewage treatment plants and into rivers and lakes, turning male minnows into female murderers
November 20, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Reality Check: Does Oxytocin Keep Committed Men Away from Other Women?
The latest oxytocin study says the hormone makes committed men stay faithful, but some skeptics cry foul
November 16, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Is Your Syndrome Named After a Nazi?
Many are probably unaware that their condition has a Nazi's name attached to it
November 16, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Chronic Lyme Disease Is Probably Not a Real Thing
New bouts of Lyme disease stem from new infections, not relapses
November 15, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
What Will Convince People That Genetically Modified Foods Are Okay?
In California, a loss for labeling GM foods has both sides wondering when people wil stop shouting and start thinking
November 15, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Have Bedbugs Been Vanquished At Last?
Bedbugs have terrorized cities long enough, and now a human drug might stop them in their tracks
November 15, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
