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Health

With so many food products now touting added protein, consumers have been left wondering how much is really necessary.

Is More Protein Always Better? Despite the Craze Around the Nutrient, Research-Backed Evidence About Its Benefits Is Complicated

It can be difficult to see through the array of flashy, protein-packed products and determine whether you need more of it—and which foods to consume to get it. We asked health experts about the benefits and drawbacks of chasing protein

MRI scanners create detailed images of the inside of the body using a powerful magnet and radio waves.

MRI Scans Might Reveal Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Seven Years Before a Telltale Marker Appears in the Brain

Not all researchers are convinced that the brain changes detected via MRI are robust enough to become a diagnostic tool. But the findings could help researchers better understand the mechanisms that drive the neurodegenerative disease

Researchers tested the battery in an RFID tag that can be rolled up in a capsule and swallowed. It can then transmit information about the digestive tract to a reader outside the body.

Scientists Invent a Digestible, Paper-Based Battery That Can Power Swallowed or Implanted Medical Devices

So far, the technology has been tested only in pigs. If it’s successful in humans, it could one day power tools that monitor your health or deliver drugs or electrical currents inside the body

The story of the bedpan is about love and hate, germs and illness, dignity and shame, and, inherently, urine and feces.

The Humble History of the Bedpan

Over the past few centuries, inventors have tweaked the design of the receptacles here and there, but overall, not much has changed about the dependable medical supply

A new review emphasizes associations between reading engagement and benefits such as better cognitive performance.

From Boosting Mental Health to Reducing Dementia Risk, Here’s Why Reading Is Extremely Good for You, According to Science

Mounting evidence suggests that regularly cozying up with a book can increase brain and mental health, improve literacy and math skills, and even slow cognitive decline. What’s more, fiction seems to have the added benefit of introducing readers to others’ perspectives

The woman was buried facedown, a position suggestive of punishment or discrimination.

This Woman Who Lived in 14th-Century China May Have Had Her Nose Cut Off as Punishment for Theft or Adultery

Researchers found signs of healing on her 700-year-old skull, which suggests that she survived the painful sanction—and may even have gone on to wear a prosthesis

Using their new knowledge, the researchers became the first to successfully coax human stem cells into becoming hindbrain motor nerve cells.

Scientists Say the Human Brain Might Be Made of Two Distinct Nervous Systems That Got Squished Together

Two separate types of progenitor cells give rise to the front and back of the organ, according to a new study. The findings can help researchers study human diseases that affect the hindbrain, since its nerve cells have previously been difficult—if not impossible—to make in the lab

Researchers looked at changes in the volume of gray matter, which is made mostly of nerve cell bodies and located in the brain's wrinkly outer layer.

The Brain Shrinks as We Age and During Major Transitions. But Surprisingly, It Seems to Take a Break From Rewiring During Menopause

Puberty, pregnancy and menopause are the three major hormonal transitions for the female brain. Researchers already knew that during the first two, the organ fine-tunes itself in response to hormonal shifts, but they haven’t been sure about the third

Men ages 55 and older were disproportionately affected, the researchers found.

Alcohol-Related Cancer Deaths Have More Than Doubled in the United States Over the Past 30 Years, Study Suggests

While scientists say their findings don’t necessarily mean you need to cut alcohol from your life entirely, knowing the potential risks—especially if you’re already at an elevated risk of developing cancer—can help guide your decisions

Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada engulfed the New York City skyline, reducing visibility and casting an orange haze over city on July 16, 2026.

From 22,000 Miles Up, This Satellite Tracks Airborne Health Threats Almost in Real Time

The new instrument, called TEMPO, captures hourly snapshots of the pollutants swirling in the daytime atmosphere over North America—“chemical weather” reports that are helpful to public health researchers and government officials

A side view of a "xenocortical" mouse brain, with the grafted human tissue seen in green and red.

Scientists Created Mice With Half-Human Brains. The Hybrid Animals Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Neurological Disorders

Our brains and their associated diseases are notoriously hard to study. So researchers developed an animal model with a cortex—the brain’s outer layer—grown from human-derived cells

Surgeons Leonardo Riella (left) and Tatsuo Kawai (right) talk to patient Tim Andrews after he received a genetically modified pig kidney in early 2025.

A Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Kept a Man Alive for a Record Nine Months, Allowing Him to Wait for a Donated Human Organ

The animal organ kept Tim Andrews off dialysis for 271 days and represents the first time a pig kidney has been used as a bridge to human organ transplantation

No effective treatments currently exist for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

A Psychedelic Compound Found in ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Might Prevent Debilitating Nerve Damage and Pain Caused by Chemotherapy

A study in mice and human tissue suggests psilocybin protects against peripheral neuropathy, a common side effect of chemotherapy. The findings are so promising that researchers are starting a mid-stage clinical trial this year

GLP-1 drugs, medications that are self-injected to support weight loss and lower blood sugar, helped peptides become mainstream.

Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here?

Experts say the peptide craze is part of a broader phenomenon, as patients look beyond the regulated health system to address problems that doctors have struggled to treat

Since calorie restriction is known to slow aging, researchers wanted to know if GLP-1s—which curb appetite—could do the same.

GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Can Slow Aging and Extend Life Span, Mouse Study Suggests

Older female mice—equivalent in age to 60-year-old women—given daily injections of the active ingredient in Ozempic lived about 12 percent longer than animals that didn’t receive the drug

The ration kept an individual's daily intake of sugar at around 40 grams, about ten cubes of sugar. After the restriction ended, consumption of the sweetener nearly doubled.

World War II Sugar Rationing Data Hints That Limiting Intake of the Sweet Stuff Early in Life Lowers the Risk of Dementia and Cancer

For roughly a decade leading up to September 1953, the United Kingdom limited sugar purchases. Scientists studied health outcomes in people born during the ration and right after

Flight attendant Lorraine Bay carefully recorded every flight she worked in this log book, found near the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

September 11

Thirty-Seven Smithsonian Artifacts That Tell the Story of 9/11, From a Flight 93 Logbook to a Squeegee Handle Used While Escaping From the World Trade Center

The National Museum of American History houses hundreds of objects linked to the attacks. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, learn the stories behind some of the most poignant items in the collections

CTE is believed to be caused by repeated head injuries.

At Least One in Four Former NFL Players Who Died Between 2016 and 2021 Had the Progressive Brain Disease CTE, Study Suggests

The true prevalence of the neurodegenerative disease—which is associated with repeated head injuries—among the deceased football players might be much higher. CTE affects other athletes too, including hockey players, soccer players and wrestlers

Tennis courts where the author played at Outbound Sedona in the Arizona heat

Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures

The sport’s hard-court surfaces can reach some 30 degrees hotter than the surrounding air. With elite players suffering heat illness on the world stage, athletes are following personalized cooling plans

An American bullfrog, which is the largest frog species in North America

This Deadly Shellfish Poisoning Has No Antidote. A Protein Found in American Bullfrogs Could Change That

A study in mice found that a protein called saxiphilin acts like a sponge against a deadly toxin produced by algal blooms. The harmful agent, which accumulates in certain seafood, can cause a life-threatening illness called paralytic shellfish poisoning

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