Health & Medicine

By recording activity of specific neurons in the brain, researchers aim to pick up signals of intended speech.

The Brain-Computer Interfaces That Could Give Locked-In Patients a Voice

Implanted devices record the brain waves associated with speech and then use computer algorithms to translate the intended messages

Many new digital psychiatry solutions have attracted funding in recent years, and experts have questions about how helpful or harmful they will be.

The Future of Mental Health

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Thousands of new tools with unproven results are entering the fold to help Americans in need

Participants in a Heroes’ Harvests hunt in Idaho stop and call to distant male turkeys, or toms, to locate them.

The Future of Mental Health

Why Nature-Based Therapy Is Gaining Traction Among Veterans

Spending time outdoors can reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD—growing concerns among service members

A pharmacist delivers a Covid-19 booster shot in Chicago during a clinic for seniors.

Covid-19

When Should I Get Another Covid Booster?

Here’s what you need to know about getting your next vaccine

Angie Fogarty tested at least 100 different versions of her sensor before finding the perfect formula.

This 18-Year-Old Developed a Test to Find Out If Your Drink Has Been Spiked

The simple and inexpensive sensor detects the antihistamine in "Benadryl cocktails"

This functional connectivity map, a kind of “fingerprint” of the brain, displays how different regions interact with each other in 12-year-olds. The map was constructed from resting-state MRIs, where participants were lying down and not completing a task. Larger red circles denote brain “nodes” with more connections.

The Future of Mental Health

Can a ‘Fingerprint’ of Your Brain Help Predict Disorders?

Using new medical imaging techniques, researchers are working to identify early signs of developmental disorders and mental illness

To collect a saliva sample, technicians instruct a person to tilt their head for two to five minutes and spit the accumulated saliva into a sterile tube. The saliva-filled tube is kept on ice and sent to the laboratory to test for the presence of biomarkers for cancer or other diseases.

Is Saliva the Next Frontier in Cancer Detection?

Scientists are finding tumor signals in spit that could be key to developing diagnostic tests for various types of cancer

The cabbage soup diet of the 1950s allowed the indulgence in as much cabbage soup as one could consume.

The Seesawing History of Fad Diets

Since dieting began in the 1830s, the ever-changing nutritional advice has skimped on science

Over several decades, researchers have identified more than 140 active compounds, called cannabinoids, in the cannabis plant. 

The Scientific History of Cannabinoids

Hundreds of these cannabis-related chemicals, both natural and synthetic, now exist, and researchers want to know how they can hurt and help us

Debra Babalola and Shefali Bohra invented Dotplot, a device that can help users monitor their breast health.

A New Tool Could Help Detect Breast Cancer Earlier

Dotplot gives users real-time feedback and builds a personalized map of their chests

Examples of computing hardware architecture supporting an AR and IR environment inside a car of the near future are displayed at the Valeo booth at CES 2023 in Las Vegas.

Eight Cool New Technologies From This Year's Consumer Electronics Show

Flying cars, live-translation eyeglasses, self-driving strollers and more were unveiled at the annual trade show in Las Vegas

Residents of Washington, D.C. wait in line to get Covid-19 test kits in December of 2021. The United States lagged behind other nations in testing during the first few months of the pandemic.

Six Lessons We’ve Learned From Covid That Will Help Us Fight the Next Pandemic

Public health experts weigh in on the steps America needs to take to stem a future outbreak

A growing movement is underway to halt chronic disease by protecting brains and bodies from the biological fallout of aging.

Could Getting Rid of Old Cells Help People Live Disease-Free for Longer?

Researchers are investigating medicines that selectively kill decrepit cells to promote healthy aging

Angel Blue performing in the 2021 production of Fire Shut Up in My Bones at the Met.

Covid-19

Can Pathogens at the Opera Haunt a Performance?

New results show performers’ breath control can prevent disease from spreading

Under the right conditions, researchers say, some crop yields could increase by 50 percent or more.

Is Hacking Photosynthesis the Key to Increasing Crop Yields?

It’s an agricultural moonshot, but scientists hope to make plants like corn, wheat and barley as heat and drought resistant as cactus

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Can This New A.I. Tool Help Detect Blood Poisoning?

The algorithm scans electronic records and may reduce sepsis deaths, but widespread adoption could be a challenge

A bus being treated with ultraviolet light in Shanghai, China. Although types of UV light are already in use to decontaminate vehicles and indoor spaces, the wavelengths used are dangerous to people. Researchers hope that wavelengths of far-UVC light can be used harmlessly when people are present.

Covid-19

Could UV Light Reduce the Spread of Covid-19 in Indoor Spaces?

Some wavelengths of light in a range called far-UVC kill microbes in experiments and appear to be harmless to people

Market research firm Fact.MR estimated that global nonalcoholic wine sales reached $1.6 billion in 2021 and will double in the next decade.

The Science Behind Nonalcoholic Wine

Drinking habits are changing, and vintners are exceeding tasters' expectations with new options stripped of their alcohol

A pharmacist prepares to administer a Covid-19 booster shot to help protect a patient against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Four Big Questions About the New Covid-19 Boosters, Answered

The FDA and CDC recently recommended new boosters to target the Omicron subvariants. Here’s what you need to know about them.

The da Vinci surgical robot, shown here on a US Navy hospital ship, is one of the most widely used devices to assist doctors in laparoscopic surgery. The procedure — in which tools are inserted through tiny holes in the abdomen instead of cutting a long incision — allows patients to recover more quickly.

The Past, Present and Future of Robotic Surgery

After decades of merely assisting doctors, are sophisticated machines ready to take charge?

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