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Science / Mind & Body

A gene unique to humans increased brain size in common marmosets.

Brain Gene Tops the List for Making Humans, Human

In a study involving marmosets, a primate genetically similar to humans, researchers have come closer to understanding brain evolution

Stewart Adams had originally set out to find a cure for rheumatoid arthritis.

The Inventor of Ibuprofen Tested the Drug on His Own Hangover

Stewart Adams’ headache subsided—and his over-the-counter pain reliever became one of the world’s most popular medications

A wooden paddle with a nail-studded leather face was used in Alabama in 1899 to perforate mail in preparation for fumigation as a precaution against yellow fever.

Mail Handlers Used to Poke Holes in Envelopes to Battle Germs and Viruses

The postal service and scientists say there’s no need to sanitize the mail today

A scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Covid-19

Why Immunity to the Novel Coronavirus Is So Complicated

Some immune responses may be enough to make a person impervious to reinfection, but scientists don’t yet know how the human body reacts to this new virus

Could 2020 be America's Year of the Bidet?

Covid-19

The Bottom Line About Bidets

Amid toilet paper shortages, many Americans are making the switch—but does all the fuss about bidets really hold water?

People who run businesses and other organizations want to know whether the spaces they manage and use are safe on a daily basis.

Covid-19

How Accurate Are Tests to Detect Coronavirus on Surfaces?

Labs and companies are already distributing some, but they vary drastically in price and potential performance

Children would line up in front of the "Temple of Vaccinia" to be vaccinated against smallpox.

COVID-19 May Permanently Shutter Museum Devoted to Vaccination Pioneer

In an ironic twist, Edward Jenner’s historic house is struggling to outlast the financial toll of being closed

Micrograph of a well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma

How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer

A new book argues that controlling cancer is within reach if scientists are able to anticipate the evolution of resistance to traditional treatments

Research suggests humans can occasionally pass the new coronavirus to cats. But felines are very unlikely to be a source of transmission back to humans.

Covid-19

Why the New Coronavirus Affects Some Animals, but Not Others

While the virus seems capable of infecting some pets and wild animals, these cases probably aren’t occurring often

Copper wire

Covid-19

Copper’s Virus-Killing Powers Were Known Even to the Ancients

The SARS-CoV-2 virus endures for days on plastic or metal but disintegrates soon after landing on copper surfaces. Here’s why

A nurse conducts a swab test for SARS-CoV-2 in Chessington, England.

Covid-19

Breaking Down the Two Tests That Could Help Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic

One detects an active infection; another signals that the virus has already left the body. Both are critical for tracking the spread of disease

Danish physician Nadja Albertsen spent a year at Concordia Research Station in Antarctica.

Covid-19

Ten Tips From Scientists Who Have Spent Months in Isolation

Find a hobby, for starters, and don’t forget the mission, say scientists who have worked at remote research stations

Can you become immune to SARS-CoV-2?

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About Immunity to the Novel Coronavirus

Though COVID-19 likely makes recovered patients immune, experts aren’t sure how long protection lasts

The tobacco mosaic virus seen under 160,000× magnification

Covid-19

How a Few Sick Tobacco Plants Led Scientists to Unravel the Truth About Viruses

With the COVID-19 coronavirus causing a global pandemic, a look back at the scientists who figured out viruses and their relationship to disease

Warmer weather can bring blooms. But don't expect it to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic on its own.

Covid-19

Why Warmer Weather Probably Won’t Stop COVID-19

Yes, most infectious diseases are seasonal. But waiting for COVID-19 to wane on its own is a bad idea

Washing your hands doesn't just lift germs off your skin. It can destroy some of them, too—including the virus behind COVID-19.

Why Is Washing Your Hands So Important, Anyway?

A dive into the science behind why hand-washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer work so well

Graphic illustrating the MAVEN spacecraft encountering plasma layers at Mars.

Ten Trends That Will Shape Science in the Decade Ahead

Medicine gets trippy, solar takes over, and humanity—finally, maybe—goes back to the moon

Allene Goodenough (right) and Helyn James of the Young Women's Christian Association mop up a spot on the sidewalk where someone expectorated by an anti-spitting sign during a public health campaign in Syracuse, New York, in 1900.

Women Who Shaped History

When a Women-Led Campaign Made It Illegal to Spit in Public in New York City

While the efficacy of the spitting policy in preventing disease transmission was questionable, it helped usher in an era of modern public health laws

By detecting the genetic traces of cancer cells in a patient's blood, medical scientists could open the door to easier diagnosis and more effective treatments.

How Simple Blood Tests Could Revolutionize Cancer Treatment

The latest DNA science can match tumor types to new treatments, and soon, a blood test might be able to detect early signs of cancer

Peter Longstaff, a foot artist who participated in the neurological study.

Artists Who Paint With Their Feet Have Unique Brain Patterns

Neuroscientists determined that certain “sensory maps” in the brain become more refined when people use their feet like hands

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