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Science / Mind & Body

Fears materialized when a series of deadly botulism cases struck unassuming consumers throughout the country.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin

Fathers can communicate their priorities through a growing fetus, which can express a set of paternal instructions that increase future care from mothers.

How Dad’s Genes Can Prepare Mom for Parenthood

Even fathers who don’t provide childcare to their offspring have a way of securing their kids’ futures—by ramping up mom’s hormones

Could spider plants alert you of carbon monoxide, or even the flu, lurking in your home?

Could Houseplants Keep Tabs on the Health of Your Home?

Researchers at the University of Tennessee look at the possibility of using plants as biosensors to detect dangers like mold or radon

For sperm, there's a vas deferens between start and finish, but the epididymis is what alters these swimmers en route.

Dads Pass On More Than Genetics in Their Sperm

Seminal research reveals that sperm change their cargo as they travel the reproductive tract—and the differences can have consequences for fertility

Is there hope for B.O.?

Will a New Discovery About Body Odor Lead to Better Deodorants?

Biologists now understand a key part of the molecular process that results in body odor—and deodorants might just be able to disrupt it

The History and Psychology of Roller Coasters

Researchers take you on a wild ride through endorphins, brain chemistry and stress science to explain the allure of theme park thrill

Graafian follicle, human ovary

How Artificial Ovaries Could Expand Fertility Options for Chemo Patients

Scientists have taken the next steps toward creating an alternative fertility preservation method using modified ovarian tissue

Due to their ubiquity at archaeological sites, teeth are like the pennies of ancient human remains. But unlike pennies, fossil chompers can be a treasure trove.

How Ancient Teeth Reveal the Roots of Humankind

From diet to evolution, prehistoric chompers tell archaeologists a surprising amount about our ancestors

Australian researchers have shown that bees can distinguish nothing from various positive numbers.

New Research

Bees May Understand Zero, a Concept That Took Humans Millennia to Grasp

If the finding is true, they’d be the first invertebrates to join an elite club that includes primates, dolphins and parrots

No photos of Cole survive. Shown here is an anatomy lecture taught by pioneering female physician Elizabeth Blackwell at the Woman's Medical College of New York Infirmary, which she founded. Cole was the resident physician at the infirmary and later a sanitary visitor at Blackwell's Tenement House Service. Blackwell described Cole as “an intelligent young coloured physician [who] carried on this work with tact and care.”

Race in America

The Woman Who Challenged the Idea that Black Communities Were Destined for Disease

A physician and activist, Rebecca J. Cole became a leading voice in medical social services

It doesn’t look like a kidney, but this ‘kidney-on-a-chip’ is a breakthrough for new drug testing.

How Putting Organs on Chips Could Revolutionize Medicine

Scientists are now working to connect these ersatz “organs” together into systems

New Research

Most Parents Want to Test Their Unborn Kids’ Genes For Disease Risk

Despite the fact that they might not like what they learn

For most humans, meditating in the snow would be highly uncomfortable. For Wim Hof, it's euphoric. Note: Wim Hof not pictured.

New Research

Science Explains How the Iceman Resists Extreme Cold

MRI scans reveal that Wim Hof artificially induces a stress response in his brain

A Hangover Pill Is Working on Drunk Mice

The new antidote may lower blood alcohol levels, helping a hangover and preventing alcohol overdose deaths

The science of DNA facial reconstruction is advancing rapidly.

How Accurately Can Scientists Reconstruct A Person’s Face From DNA?

Predicting physical features from genetic data certainly has its limitations, but it is advancing. What does this mean for our privacy?

Fake medicines are a lucrative global business. When it comes to malaria drugs that don’t work, they can be deadly.

Are Fake Drugs The Reason Malaria Sickens Millions a Year?

Fraudulent, expired and low-quality medicines contribute to the disease’s death toll—and could worsen drug resistance

The Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer, or VEST, has 32 vibrating motors distributed around the torso.

Could This Futuristic Vest Give Us a Sixth Sense?

For starters, the new technology—appearing on ‘Westworld’ before hitting the market—could help the deaf parse speech and ambient noise

Human evolution is “one of the highest hurdles — if not the highest hurdle — to science education in America,” says Smithsonian's Rick Potts. Here, an early human fossil found in Broken Hill, Zambia.

How to Talk With Evangelicals About Evolution

For two years, researchers from the Smithsonian traveled the country explaining the science of our shared origins

Going to bed early is part of getting a good night’s sleep.

Bad News, Night Owls: You Might Have a Higher Risk of Dying Early

Researchers found a 10 percent higher risk of early death in late night sleepers, but aren’t sure why

This advertisement from San Francisco-based electronic cigarette company JUUL calls back the tobacco advertisements from the mid-20th century.

Ads for E-Cigarettes Today Hearken Back to the Banned Tricks of Big Tobacco

A new ‘Joe Camel’-esque phenomenon may be igniting as the new fad takes a 21st-century page out of an old playbook

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