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Simply by looking at geo-tagged tweets, an algorithm can track the spread of flu and predict which users are going to get sick.

Your Tweets Can Predict When You’ll Get the Flu

Simply by looking at geotagged tweets, an algorithm can track the spread of flu and predict which users are going to get sick

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Watch a Tick Burrowing Into Skin in Microscopic Detail

Their highly specialized biting technique allows ticks to pierce skin with tiny harpoons and suck blood for days at a time

Everyone has a unique “fingerprint” of oral bacteria species, and new research shows that it correlates with genetic and ethnic factors.

Your Ethnicity Determines the Species of Bacteria That Live in Your Mouth

Everyone has a unique “fingerprint” of oral bacteria species, and new research shows that, in isolation, it can be used to predict your ethnicity

Scientists have identified a milk protein called Tenascin C that binds to HIV (the virus is shown here in green) and prevents it from injecting its DNA into human immune system cells (shown in purple, with pseudopodia in pink).

Discovered: A Natural Protein in Breast Milk That Fights HIV

Scientists have identified a milk protein called Tenascin C that binds to HIV and prevents it from injecting its DNA into human cells

By altering levels of the naturally-occurring chemical kynurenic acid in the brain, scientists made marijuana’s active ingredient THC less pleasurable, leading monkeys to voluntarily consume 80 percent less of it.

Is This Chemical a Cure For Marijuana Addiction?

By altering levels of kynurenic acid in the brain, scientists made marijuana less pleasurable, leading monkeys to voluntarily consume 80 percent less of it

Research in mice shows that heavy drinking triggers cellular changes that interfere with bone formation.

Why Binge Drinking Makes You More Likely to Break Your Bones

Research in mice shows that heavy drinking triggers cellular changes that interfere with bone formation

President Barack Obama is left-handed, as well as at least six former presidents.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Are Some People Left-Handed?

Being a righty or a lefty could be linked to variations in a network of genes that influence right or left asymmetries in the body and brain

New research shows that a molecule in Szechuan peppers activates your cells’ touch receptors, making them feel like they’ve been vibrated rapidly.

Why Szechuan Peppers Make Your Lips Go Numb

Research shows that a molecule in the peppers activates your cells’ touch receptors, making them feel like they’ve been rapidly vibrated

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This Next-Generation Bug Spray Could Make You Invisible to Mosquitoes

Researchers are analyzing chemicals naturally present on human skin that disrupt mosquitoes’ ability to smell us

When the heart’s electrical system fails, death is imminent.

Why Does Cardiac Arrest Often Strike in the Morning?

Studies show that the amount of a specific molecule in human hearts fluctuates on a daily cycle, helping to explain the decades-old observation

A colorized microscopic image of a viral particle of the Ebola virus. The virus, which scientists believe originates in non-human primates, causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a deadly disease in humans, monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

A Minimum of 320,000 Mammalian Viruses Await Discovery

If we invested just $1.4 billion, we could discover 85 percent of all mammalian viruses, potentially lessening the impact of the next emerging disease

Much like bats and dolphins, some people have developed the ability to analyze bouncing sound waves to generate a picture of their environment.

How Human Echolocation Allows People to See Without Using Their Eyes

Mimicking bats and dolphins, some people have developed the ability to analyze bouncing sound waves to generate a picture of their environment

About the only use modern humans have for their urine is in health screenings. But preindustrial workers built entire industries based on the scientific properties of pee.

From Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine

Preindustrial workers built huge industries based on the liquid’s cleaning power and corrosiveness—and the staler the pee, the better

New research with rats indicates that mental activity can continue for 30 seconds after the heart stops beating—perhaps explaining out-of-body experiences.

A Last-Second Surge of Brain Activity Could Explain Near-Death Experiences

Near-death sightings of light at the end of a tunnel may be related to the 30 seconds of activity in rats’ brains after their hearts stop

Regular caffeine use alters your brain’s chemical makeup, leading to fatigue, headaches and nausea if you try to quit.

This Is How Your Brain Becomes Addicted to Caffeine

Regular ingestion of the drug alters your brain’s chemical makeup, leading to fatigue, headaches and nausea if you try to quit

Researchers recently pinpointed the molecule responsible for the searing pain of a sunburn—and may have found a new way of eliminating it entirely.

Did Scientists Just Discover a Cure for Sunburn Pain?

Researchers pinpointed the molecule responsible for the searing pain of a burn, and may have found a new way of eliminating it entirely

Getting away from artificial light and basking in sunlight can reset your internal clock, new research shows.

A Week of Camping Can Turn You Into a Morning Person

Getting away from artificial light and basking in sunlight can reset your internal clock, new research shows

New research suggests that an apple might be the safer choice for pregnant eating.

Could Over-Snacking While Pregnant Predispose Children to Be Obese?

Women who constantly binge on junk food while pregnant might pass their penchant for sweet and fatty food on to their children, a new study suggests

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Ask Smithsonian 2017

Wait, Have I Been Here Before? The Curious Case of Déjà Vu

Although the strange sensation’s cause remains unknown, scientists are searching for ways to induce that nagging feeling of familiarity

Being a Lifelong Bookworm May Keep You Sharp in Old Age

Reading, writing and other mental exercises, if habitual from an early age, can slow down the age-related decline in mental capacity

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