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Health

A U.S. Air Force pilot performs a pre-flight check. Perhaps one day, connecting electrodes to the scalp could be part of that routine.

New Research

U.S. Military Tests Brain Stimulation to Sharpen Mental Skills

Could electrodes one day replace pill bottles in the theatre of war?

Grégoire Courtine, an author on the new study, holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain, a microelectrode array and a pulse generator. The brain-spine interface consists of elements like these.

New Research

A New Wireless Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Monkeys Walk. Humans Could Be Next.

One small step for monkeys, one potential leap for humans

That looks nutritious.

Everyone Poops. Some Animals Eat It. Why?

Consuming feces can benefit not only the health and microbiomes of some animals, but also their environments

Smoking leaves permanent scars on cells, new research finds.

New Research

Smoking a Pack a Day for a Year Leaves 150 Mutations in Every Lung Cell

Researchers quantify just how bad smoking is for you, molecularly

Simple, yet effective.

Why Public Health Researchers Are Looking to Urban Trees

A global study finds they can help cool cities and reduce air pollution—for less money than high-tech answers

Whoever dies with the most friends wins? It's complicated.

New Research

Facebook Might Help You Live Longer, According to Facebook Researchers

It depends on whether online social ties strengthen real-world social ties, which are known to be good for your health

The crew of the International Space Station's Expedition 38

New Research

Space Makes Astronauts Grow Taller, But It Also Causes Back Problems

The inches gained during long stays in space don’t stick around once the adventurers return to Earth

With some seed money from her grandparents, Alina Morse started her very own business.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Meet the 11-Year-Old Who Invented a Healthy Lollipop

Made with plant-derived sugar alternatives, Alina Morse’s Zollipops help reduce the risk of cavities

New Research

New Patch Could Help Reduce Peanut Allergies

A new study shows that a transdermal patch delivering tiny doses of peanut protein could help allergy sufferers tolerate larger exposure to peanuts

Tombac, a form of tobacco, grows on a farm in Darfur. The plant could one day be used to create cheaper, better anti-malarial drugs.

New Research

Scientists Hijacked Tobacco Plants to Make Malaria Drugs

A promising new advance could make the world’s best anti-malarial drug more widely available

Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Point of Earwax?

Earwax has a job to do; but many are not hearing the message

These cans are more influential than you might have guessed.

New Research

New Study Highlights Coke and Pepsi’s Uncomfortable Links to Health Organizations

In five years, the two soda companies sponsored at least 96 health and medical groups

María Esther Heredia Lecaro de Capovilla lived to be 116 years and 347 days old. Here she is at age 115.

New Research

Have Humans Hit Their Maximum Lifespan?

Researchers say 115 years old is the ceiling for most of us—with a few outliers able to live a bit longer

A new WHO report reveals that China has the most air pollution deaths per year.

New Research

Nine in Ten People Worldwide Breathe Dangerous Air Every Day

The WHO just released the most detailed air pollution report ever—and the results are sobering

A concept design for the completed Glenner Town Square.

Cool Finds

Fake Towns Could Help People With Alzheimer’s Live Happier Lives

Model towns meant to spark memories could help patients with dementia

Sugar companies have gotten themselves in a sticky situation.

New Research

Sugar Study Draws Attention to Food Industry’s Sour Secret

Food industries have long opened their wallets to snag a piece of the science pie

E. coli quickly becomes antibiotic resistant.

New Research

Watch E.coli Evolve Before Your Eyes

This is how antibiotic resistance happens

Ask Smithsonian: How Does the World Look to the Color Blind?

Most people who are color blind can see colors, they just have trouble distinguishing between specific kinds

New Research

This Slo-Mo Sneeze Video Shows Just How Far Spray Clouds Can Spread

Gross as it may be, by mapping the ejected sneeze droplets, researchers hope to better control the spread of disease

Diesel fumes, like the ones emitted by trains, vehicles and industrial operations, are thought to be to blame for magnetite in the human brain.

New Research

Your Brain Is Full of Magnetic Minerals, and You Might Not Like the Reason Why

Blame air pollution for the microscopic minerals that go up your nose and into your noggin

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