Health & Medicine

Surgeon Bartley Griffith examines the pig heart before the transplant.

Why Did the First Human Patient to Receive a Pig Heart Transplant Die?

Scientists have come up with at least four explanations

The female pandanus plant of the Asia Pacific region produces a vitamin- and potassium-rich pineapple-like fruit.

Good News

Eight Superfoods That Could Future-Proof Our Diet

These climate-resilient crops could find more prominent placement on our plates in the next few decades

Patients who are struggling with everything from ADHD to eating disorders have turned to art therapy for help.

The Future of Mental Health

How Making Art Helps Improve Mental Health

With depression and anxiety on the rise during the pandemic, more professionals may adopt art therapy as a treatment

Researchers at Northwestern University created an implantable device that attaches to a nerve to deliver pain relief.

Innovation for Good

This Dissolvable Implant Could Revolutionize Pain Management

After some success on rats, researchers are hopeful this device could provide humans a more targeted and less addictive alternative to opioids

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, spreads dengue fever, Zika, chikungunya and other viruses that infect humans.

Dengue Fever and Zika Virus Make Humans More Attractive to Mosquitoes

Scientists conducted human and mouse studies to find the skin bacteria responsible for the draw

Royal kombu (aka sugar kelp) harvested from the Netherlands’ first organic seaweed farm enriches and flavors the Dutch Weed Burger’s soy-chip-based patty.

Innovation for Good

Is Seaweed the Next Big Alternative to Meat?

From kelp burgers to bacon of the sea, sustainable food entrepreneurs are innovating to charm hungry omnivores

A baby receives a mallaria vaccine from a nurse at the maternity ward of the Ewin Polyclinic in Ghana in 2019.

Why Did It Take 35 Years to Get a Malaria Vaccine?

The parasite’s complex biology played a role in the delay, but experts say there was also a lack of urgency and funding

A new study shows that children who play individual sports, like tennis, may have more mental health issues than those that play team sports or don’t participate in sports at all.

The Future of Mental Health

Should Parents Worry About New Research Linking Kids’ Mental Health and Individual Sports?

According to the study, children who played team sports had fewer mental health difficulties than those who didn’t play sports

As of 2019, doctors can prescribe an FDA approved ketamine-based antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression.

The Past, Present and Future of Using Ketamine to Treat Depression

The drug's initial successes have upended what many neuroscientists know about the brain and mental illness

School children protest climate change outside the Scottish Parliament in 2019 as part of a worldwide demonstration.

The Future of Mental Health

Your Crushing Anxiety About the Climate Crisis Is Normal

A Stanford researcher shares what she’s learned about the ways climate change affects mental health and offers practical advice

Taste testers involved in a recent study preferred chocolate that shattered in their mouth.

Innovation for Good

Have Scientists Designed the Perfect Chocolate?

Part of a burgeoning field of 'edible metamaterials,' Dutch physicists found that 3-D printed spiral-shaped candies give the ideal eating experience

Many Americans struggle with risk assessment when making decisions during the pandemic.

The Future of Mental Health

Why It’s So Hard to Make Risk Decisions in the Pandemic

Our brains weren’t built to do public health calculus like this, but following a few pieces of advice from the experts will help as you weigh your options

A patient uses the gameChange virtual reality program.

The Future of Mental Health

Inside the Effort to Expand Virtual Reality Treatments for Mental Health

Medical professionals are embracing the technology to help patients deal with PTSD, anxiety disorders and more

A gorilla sleeps in a forest in Rwanda.

Why Humans Sleep Less Than Their Primate Relatives

Ancient humans may have evolved to slumber efficiently—and in a crowd

Aseel Rawashdeh's innovation won sixth place in this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search, the country's most prestigious and oldest science and math competition for promising young scientists in their senior year.

Innovation for Good

This Teenager Found a Way to Control Mosquitoes Using Essential Oils and Baker's Yeast

Aseel Rawashdeh's inexpensive larvicide kills disease-spreading species and spares beneficial ones

Benjamin Choi was one of the top 40 finalists of this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search, the country's oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

Innovation for Good

This High Schooler Invented a Low-Cost, Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Arm

Seventeen-year-old Benjamin Choi put his spare time during the pandemic to good use designing an accessible device that doesn't require brain surgery

A man receives a Covid-19 vaccine in Zimbabwe.

Covid-19

Should Traditional Vaccines Be Used in the Global Fight Against Covid?

Researcher Maria Elena Bottazzi says such vaccines may be key to protecting individuals in middle- and low-income countries

Visible in the entrance to their den are a mother black bear, who has been sedated, and her female cub. Scientists are watching to see how bears will tweak their hibernation habits as the climate warms.

Why Amazing Discoveries About Bear Hibernation May Help Improve Human Health

The creatures' annual protracted snoozes have much to tell us about the biology of mammals, ourselves included

A first grade student receives a Covid-19 vaccine in Chicago, Illinois

Six Important Things to Know About Covid Vaccination in Children

Experts share the latest research and advice about protecting kids

Building a Corsi-Rosenthal box portable air filter comes down to duct-taping together a set of furnace filters and a box fan.

The Homemade Air Purifier That's Been Saving Lives During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Made from everyday items found in hardware stores, the Corsi-Rosenthal box is a testament to the power of grassroots innovation

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