Health

With Wearable Devices That Monitor Air Quality, Scientists Can Crowdsource Pollution Maps

Emerging technology means anyone with a smartphone can become a mobile environmental monitoring station

March 12, 2015

New Research

Fecal Fermentation and Electronic Pills May Help Decipher Gut Gases

Some intestinal gases have been linked with diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome and colon cancer, so tracking them might explain the connection

March 12, 2015

New Research

How the Sugar Industry Influenced Dental Research

Newly uncovered “sugar papers” reveal that the sugar lobby played a major role in 1970s dental public health policies

March 11, 2015

New Drawings Show the Strange Beauty of Phages, the Bacteria Slayers

Phage viruses rearrange genes, prey on bacteria and maintain microbial diversity. Can we harness them to do our bidding?

March 9, 2015

This Week in Crowdfunding

An Augmented Reality Children’s Book, Bacon Jerky and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Never worry about halitosis again with the Breathometer Mint bad breath tracker

March 6, 2015

New Research

U.S. Heroin Overdose Rate Nearly Quadruples

As prescription painkillers become more difficult to abuse, the face of heroin addiction is changing

March 5, 2015

New Research

Americans Can’t Agree on What Shapes Health

New research shows that Americans think a broad variety of factors can make us sick

March 2, 2015

New Research

Allergy Treatments Could Someday Start Before You Are Born

Studies in mice are showing that it might be possible treat disorders that have a genetic basis during pregnancy

February 27, 2015

Use Virtual Reality to Eliminate That Pain in Your Neck

Altering visual perceptions can trick the brains of chronic sufferers so they can enjoy pain-free motion

February 26, 2015

Trending Today

How One Doctor Proposes to Conduct the First Human Head Transplant

An Italian neuroscientists says that the surgery could be ready in as few as two years, but the scientific community remains very skeptical

February 26, 2015

Cool Finds

Some Ancient Egyptians Had State-Sponsored Healthcare

Craftsmen who built royal tombs enjoyed sick days, designated physicians and rationed medicine—all paid by the state

February 20, 2015

Are QR Codes Safe and Other Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

March 2015

Trending Today

Contaminated Doctors’ Scopes May Have Spread a Superbug to Almost 180 Patients

A drug-resistant bacteria usually found in the gut has infected seven people and contributed to two deaths

February 19, 2015

Cool Finds

LED Skylights Perfectly Mimic Natural Sunlight

The lights fool human brains and camera eyes

February 18, 2015

This $34 Smartphone-Assisted Device Could Revolutionize Disease Testing

A new low-cost device that plugs into a smartphone could cut down on expensive lab tests

February 18, 2015

Midnight Snacking Is Bad for Your Brain

Experiments in mice show that misaligned eating patterns can mess with the brain’s ability to form memories and learn new tasks

February 17, 2015

This Week in Crowdfunding

Five Wild Ideas: From a Vest for Weight Loss to an Electric Skateboard

Plus, building blocks for children inspired by Archimedes

February 13, 2015

A Man With ALS Says “I Love You” to His Wife for the First Time in 15 Years

A new invention from Not Impossible Labs allows Don Moir to script an audible love letter

February 12, 2015

Help for the Brokenhearted: Wearable, Biosynthetic and ‘Beatless’ Artificial Hearts

Cow-machine hybrids and continuous-flow technologies are helping people survive devastating heart failure

February 12, 2015

How Long Will You Live? Ask Your Friends

A medical personality quiz started in the 1930s shows how your best pals may know more about your health than you do

February 10, 2015