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Body

A vintage ad for patent medicines, which usually didn't list their active ingredients. We now know that many contained morphine, cocaine, opium and more.

How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic

And what it can teach us about the second

The above image shows the dermal interstitium with bundles of collagen and fluid (white spaces).

Scientists May Have Identified a New Human Organ

It is called the interstitium, and it consists of fluid-filled cavities that can be found throughout the body

Gene editing, which uses "molecular scissors" to cut and replace pieces of DNA, could be key for curing herpes.

Can We Gene-Edit Herpes Away?

Because the virus hides out deep in our bodies and stays there for life, a vaccine has eluded scientists for decades. But there may be another way

Postcard of the Napa State Hospital in Napa, Calif., circa 1905. Over 1,900 Californians were recommended for sterilization while patients here.

Race in America

California Once Targeted Latinas for Forced Sterilization

In the 20th century, U.S. eugenics programs rendered tens of thousands of people infertile

Macrophages begin to fuse with, and inject its toxins into, the cancer cell. The cell starts rounding up and loses its spikes.

Where We Are in the Hunt for a Cancer Vaccine

Two new studies have promising results

Making history

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Roger Bannister, the First Person to Break the 4-Minute Mile

The Oxford medical student, who died on March 3 at age 88, broke what was believed to be an impossible record

New Research

This Electronic “Skin” Already Has a Sense of Touch. Now It Can Also Heal Itself

The new e-skin can both heal itself and be recycled, limiting electronic waste

The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), Sunday, Apr 28, 1935

How the “Heart Balm Racket” Convinced America That Women Were Up to No Good

Being engaged carried some legal consequences until the news media got a hold of a sensational story

Every dazzling jump on the ice—like Yuzuru Hanyu's quadruple Lutz at the 2017 Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Moscow, Russia—requires a mastery of balance, rotational speed and angular momentum.

Winter Olympics

How Physics Keeps Figure Skaters Gracefully Aloft

Every twist, turn and jump relies on a mastery of complex physical forces

Gary Steinberg

American Ingenuity Awards

A Neurosurgeon’s Remarkable Plan to Treat Stroke Victims With Stem Cells

Gary Steinberg defied convention when he began implanting living cells inside the brains of patients who had suffered from a stroke

Did you get that injury during the night or day? It might be telling about how long it'll take to heal.

New Research

Why Wounds Heal Faster During the Day Than at Night

A new study suggests that you should consider staying away from sharp objects at night

Harriot Hunt was accepted into Harvard Medical school and treated hundreds of patients over her 25-year-career, blazing a trail for future generations of female physicians.

Women Who Shaped History

The Medical Practitioner Who Paved the Way for Women Doctors in America

Harriot Hunt refused to let her gender limit her ambitions—or those of the next generation of physicians

New Research

Stopping the Aging Process May Be Mathematically Impossible

Researchers find that removing low-functioning cells can slow aging—but allows cancer cells to proliferate

An illustrated depiction of a scene of Lincoln lying in state

When You Die, You’ll Probably Be Embalmed. Thank Abraham Lincoln For That

The president was an “early adopter” of embalming technology, helping to bring the modern death industry to the mainstream

This 5,300-Year-Old Corpse Was Found by Accident

Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a frozen body deep in the Otztal Alps, little did they know it belonged to one of the oldest preserved corpses

These Are the Three Main Categories of Bloodstain Patterns

Bloodstain pattern analysis is used in murder investigations - analysts draw on chemistry, mathematics and physics to determine the area of origin

Guillaume Rondelet was an early anatomist who founded his own dissecting theater, which was a thing people did in the sixteenth century.

A Sixteenth-Century Hot Date Might Include a Trip to the Dissecting Theater

Anatomy theaters were an early site for science as spectacle

Fertility apps promise to help women both get pregnant and avoid pregnancy. But how reliable are they?

New Research

What’s Actually New About Today’s Newfangled Birth Control Apps?

These futuristic-sounding apps are on the rise, but it’s key to separate the data from the hype

New Research

Tattoo Ink May Stain Your Lymph Nodes

But more research is needed to determine whether this is actually a bad thing

This is no ordinary origami paper, it's made out of organ tissues and could eventually become a high-tech band aid.

New Research

This “Tissue” Paper Is Made From Real Tissue

Made from powdered organs, the flexible paper could be used as a sophisticated bandage during surgery

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