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Medicine

Rare Case of ‘Coffin Birth’ Seen in Medieval Grave

The pregnant woman’s remains may also suggest that she underwent cranial surgery due to a life-threatening complication

A vintage ad for patent medicines, which usually didn't list their active ingredients. We now know that many contained morphine, cocaine, opium and more.

How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic

And what it can teach us about the second

The above image shows the dermal interstitium with bundles of collagen and fluid (white spaces).

Scientists May Have Identified a New Human Organ

It is called the interstitium, and it consists of fluid-filled cavities that can be found throughout the body

Why We Should Test Heart Drugs On a ‘Virtual Human’ Instead of Animals

Thousands of animals are used for heart drug tests each year—but research shows that computer-simulated trials are more accurate

Cool Finds

Why This Elephant in India Is Blowing Smoke

It’s likely the puffing pachyderm is eating ash-covered charcoal as a form of self-medication to flush out toxins

An illustration depicting the life cycle of a cancer cell

This DNA-Based Attack Against Cancer May Just Work

A newly approved treatment is a milestone in gene therapy for cancer

Macrophages begin to fuse with, and inject its toxins into, the cancer cell. The cell starts rounding up and loses its spikes.

Where We Are in the Hunt for a Cancer Vaccine

Two new studies have promising results

Vanessa Brandon worried that her cancer was a burden on her family: “I don’t want my sickness to become their sickness.”

Could Immunotherapy Lead the Way to Fighting Cancer?

A new treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer is offering hope to patients with advanced disease

Periplaneta Americana

New Research

Cockroach Genome Shows Why They Are Impossible to Kill

The massive genome includes code for neutralizing toxins, regrowing limbs and a thousand genes for detecting food and chemicals

This digitally-colorized negative-stained transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image shows recreated 1918 influenza virions that were collected from supernatants of 1918-infected Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells cultures 18 hours after infection.

New Research

Flu Skies: How Influenza Might Spread On a Plane

A new study suggests the chances of contracting a sick passenger’s flu virus is surprisingly low

Scientists are using high-powered X-rays to reveal a hidden text beneath a 10th century religious text.

High-Powered X-Rays Reveal What’s Beneath 11th-Century Religious Text

The hidden text is a translation of ancient Greek medical philosopher Galen’s writing

The artist’s impression of "Self-Conscious Gene."

Europe

Sculpture of ‘Zombie Boy’ Fleshes Out London’s Science Museum

A giant sculpture of artist and model Rick Genest, who has covered himself in tattoos of the inside of his body, will debut in its new Medicine Galleries

New Research

Unraveling the Genetics Behind Why Some People “See” Sound and “Hear” Color

Researchers find several genes that regulate the wiring for synesthesia in the brain

Alexander Mok (left) tests a cardiopulmonary assessment device with exercise physiologist Casey White (right) at Massachusetts General Hospital.

When Doctors Need New Medical Tools, These Students Are Up To the Challenge

Medical device design courses are more than just good education

The sensor can be stuck on the skin like a Band-Aid.

These Flexible Sensors Could Help Monitor a Stroke Patient In Recovery

Worn on the throat to evaluate speech, or on the body to track movement, stretchable sensors could lead to better rehabilitation

The trepanated skull of a Neolithic woman. The fact that the hole is rounded off by ingrowth of new bone suggests that the patient survived the operation.

No, Getting a Hole Drilled in Your Head Was Never a Migraine Cure

The ancient and controversial procedure was used for a slew of reasons, but to ‘let the headache out’ was not one of them

New Research

No, Your Nose Isn’t as Big as That Selfie Makes It Seem

If you take a selfie from just 12 inches away, it may make your nose look 30 percent bigger

Making history

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Roger Bannister, the First Person to Break the 4-Minute Mile

The Oxford medical student, who died on March 3 at age 88, broke what was believed to be an impossible record

"The Night," Michele di Rodolfo del Ghirlandaio, oil on panel, Galleria Colonna, Rome, Italy

New Research

Earliest Images of Breast Cancer Found in Renaissance Paintings

The signs of illness in the paintings illustrate that breast cancer is not just a modern malady

The World’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Dies

Only two individuals of the subspecies remain in the world

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