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Health

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

Flight Attendants May Face Increased Risk for Many Cancers, Study Finds

Flight attendants are exposed to a number of possible or probable cancer-causing factors

Double burial of two plague victims in the Samara region, Russia

Bacteria in Ancient Teeth Push Back Origins of the Bubonic Plague

The deadly disease may have been transmitted to humans at least 800 years earlier than previously believed

New Research

Inca Skull Surgeons Had Better Success Rates Than American Civil War Doctors

Survival rates among later Inca cultures was significantly higher. However, the 19th-century soldiers were facing trauma caused by industrial-age warfare

A large dust storm, or haboob, sweeps across downtown Phoenix on July 21, 2012.

New Research

How Climate Changed-Fueled “Mega Droughts” Could Harm Human Health

Researchers looked at the little-studied danger of dust and worsening air quality in the American Southwest

AI will be able to analyze compounds in your breath.

Artificial Intelligence May Be Able To Smell Illnesses in Human Breath

Compounds in your breath could help AI detect illnesses, including different cancers

The Next Flu Pandemic Might Come From Dogs

A new study found two strains of swine flu in sickly pups in China

A UNICEF staff member measures the perimeter of an acute malnourished child's arm in Doolow, Somalia.

Can AI Tell if a Child Is Malnourished?

A new program may be able to spot malnutrition in a simple photo, making it easier to assess nutrition problems in volatile regions

New Research

Disgusting Things Fall Into Six Gross Categories

Open sores, body odors and other indicators of possible disease transmission top the list of things that gross us out

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

Microraptors, dandruff and all.

New Research

Dinosaurs Had Dandruff, Too

Our ancient feathered friends shed skin in a similar way to modern birds and humans

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

Swabbing a chimp's nest.

New Research

Your Bed Is Dirtier Than a Chimp’s

Human beds have far more bacteria associated with skin, saliva and feces than the nests of our primate cousins

A health care worker wears virus protective gear at a treatment center in Bikoro, Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter of the latest outbreak.

Can an Experimental Ebola Vaccine Put a Stop to the Latest Outbreak?

Over 4,000 doses of the vaccine have arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The new water purification technique involves draping a sheet of carbon-dipped paper in an upside-down "V." The paper's bottom edges soak up water, while the carbon coating absorbs solar energy and transforms it into heat for evaporation.

Could This Low-Cost Device Provide Clean Drinking Water To Those In Need?

Engineers have created an upgraded solar still that uses carbon paper and the sun to purify water at an unprecedented rate

The activity at Halema'uma'u Crater on the Kilauea volcano has increased to include nearly continuous emission of ash with intermittent stronger pulses.

Huge Burst of Ash and ‘Vog’ from Kilauea Puts Hawaii on Red Alert

Experts worry that more violent eruptions could be in store

U.S. Army surgeons grew an ear in a soldier's forearm before transplanting it to the head. The solider had lost her own ear during a car accident.

Doctors ‘Grow’ Ear for Transplant in Patient’s Forearm

The procedure is rare, but could potentially help many more patients who experience similar bodily damage

Elinor Powell (right) with a fellow nurse at POW Camp Florence in Arizona, circa 1944-1945

Women Who Shaped History

The Army’s First Black Nurses Were Relegated to Caring for Nazi Prisoners of War

Prohibited from treating white GIs, the women felt betrayed by the country they sought to serve

A lithograph from printers Currier & Ives depicted swill milk as the root of many vices

The Surprisingly Intolerant History of Milk

A new book provides an udderly fascinating chronicle of the controversial drink

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