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Health

Itchy and scratchy: When they see their peers scratching away, mice get the urge to itch.

New Research

Why Is Itching So Contagious?

Scientists figure out how compulsive scratching spreads in mice, and maybe humans

Paleo diet? Not so much. Thanks to Neanderthal dental plaque, researchers are getting a much better idea of what our ancestors actually dined on.

New Research

Scientists Delve Into Neanderthal Dental Plaque to Understand How They Lived and Ate

The plaque that coated Neanderthal teeth is shedding new light on how our ancestors ate, self-medicated and interacted with humans

For years, boys at Fernald State School were subjected to experiments using radioactive tracers in oatmeal.

A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Radioactive Oatmeal Go Down

When MIT and Quaker Oats paired up to conduct experiments on unsuspecting young boys

A child stands in the Côte d’Ivoire charcoal yard where his mother works.

Trending Today

WHO Warns That Pollution Is Killing Millions of Children

New reports say that one in four deaths of young people under the age of five can be attributed to the environment

Tanning Beds Cause $343 Million in Medical Bills a Year

A new study has calculated the steep cost of a not-so-healthy glow

One surprising group is getting colon cancer at rates not seen since the 1890s.

New Research

New Study Shows Sharp Rise in Colorectal Cancers Among Young Adults

Its authors are not sure why the cancers have risen so much—only that they’re increasing every year

Researchers have found that when our minds wander, our moods tend to suffer.

Why Mind Wandering Can Be So Miserable, According to Happiness Experts

We still don’t know why our minds seem so determined to exit the present moment, but researchers have a few ideas

Children have been crippled by land mines in Cambodia.

The Historic Innovation of Land Mines—And Why We’ve Struggled to Get Rid of Them

A number of researchers are developing tools to defuse or detonate land mines without harming civilians

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

New Research

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

The company fills pills with 15 different supplements, each in amounts from 0 to 100 percent recommended daily allowance.

Smart Startup

What If You Could Take a Vitamin 3D Printed to Meet Your Personal Nutrition Needs?

Fred Parietti, CEO and cofounder of Multiply Labs, wants personalized nutritional supplements to start a whole new movement

Henrietta Lacks was a real person—and her cancer cells have led to many medical discoveries.

Trending Today

New Claims Prove the Henrietta Lacks Controversy Is Far From Over

The family of the woman who changed science forever is seeking compensation

World Health Organization workers gear up to go into an old Ebola isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria.

New Research

Superspreaders Caused Much of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic

Just three percent of infected people caused two thirds of overall infections

Robotic telemedicine can be used to assess patients with stroke.

Doctors Can Use Robotic Telemedicine to Assess Coma Patients

A new study shows that a remote specialist can be just as effective at reporting a comatose patient’s condition than a medical professional in the room

After the defeat of Cleopatra's forces by Octavian (later Augustus, emperor of Rome), the Egyptian queen and her lover Marc Antony fled to Egypt. In Shakespeare's imagining, one of Cleopatra's greatest fears was the the horrid breath of the Romans. Shown here: "The Death of Cleopatra" by Reginald Arthur, 1892.

The History and Science Behind Your Terrible Breath

Persistent mouth-stink has been dousing the flames of passion for millennia. Why haven’t we come up with a cure?

Smart Glasses

The Innovative Spirit fy17

These “Smart Glasses” Adjust To Your Vision Automatically

The glasses’ liquid lenses change shape according to the distance of objects, making reading glasses and bifocals unnecessary

When it comes to reversible ways to prevent pregnancy, men have limited options—for now.

New Research

Contraceptive Gel Called the “IUD For Men” Makes It Through Monkey Trials

Vasalgel aims to make contraception for men as easy and effective as IUDs have for women

Patients wear a NIRS apparatus—typically a neoprene helmet with dozens of optical sensors sticking out of it.

Patients With Locked-in Syndrome May Be Able to Communicate After All

A new use for brain-computer interfaces gives insight to life with ALS

A view into Flint drinking water pipes, showing various types of iron corrosion and rust.

New Research

Scientists Now Know Exactly How Lead Got Into Flint’s Water

New report points blames corrosion and warns that fixing lead poisoning nationwide will require more work than we hoped

Researchers are gathering data on when head impacts happen most often.

How Much Should Youth Football Change to Reduce Concussions?

Drop kickoff returns? Cut the number of players? Shrink the field?

A FVRx participant picks out produce at LA's Central Avenue Farmer's Market.

Take Three Zucchinis and Call Me in the Morning: The Power of Produce Prescriptions

Wholesome Wave’s fruit and vegetable prescription program meets mega-retail, as Target joins the cause

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