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Medicine

The Cairo Toe

Cool Finds

This 3,000-Year-Old Wooden Toe Shows Early Artistry of Prosthetics

Crafted from leather and wood, the ancient Egyptian prosthesis was was adjusted to precisely fit its wearer’s foot

New Research

Dogs Will Sniff Out Stomach Cancer in New Japanese Trial

The nose knows

Although scientific discoveries about blood started happening in the seventeeth century, blood transfusions are (mostly) a twentieth-century thing.

350 Years Ago, A Doctor Performed the First Human Blood Transfusion. A Sheep Was Involved

Early scientists thought that the perceived qualities of an animal—a lamb’s purity, for instance—could be transmitted to humans in blood form

In the past half-century, this tiny object has gone from feminist icon to dangerous villain to, incredibly, feminist icon once again. And no, we're not sure why the background is pink.

From Medical Pariah to Feminist Icon: The Story of the IUD

After decades of being shunned by women and doctors alike, this T-shaped device is enjoying a new surge of popularity

When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals

How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box

When it comes to a crowdsourcing campaign, food might be an easier sell than feces. “Food is this amazing platform because we all have a connection to it, we all can relate,” says microbiologist Rachel Dutton. Not that poop isn't relatable, but, you know.

New Research

You Are What You Eat, And What You Eat Is Millions of Microbes

Now that they’ve tallied up American feces, researchers are turning to the other half of the microbial equation: food

Don't stop slathering on the sunblock, but a technology being developed in the lab could add an additional layer of protection, by tanning skin cells without UV rays.

Researchers Give Skin Cells a Tan—Without the Sun

Without damaging UV rays, the artificial tan could give that golden glow while protecting against skin cancer.

A baby in the neonatal intensive care unit are often covered in patches and wires for monitoring their vital signs, but new advances mean that soon those wires could be replaced with sensors as thin as a temporary tattoo.

Will These Flexible Skin Patches Replace Wires in Hospitals?

Researchers at Northwestern University have developed “epidermal electronics,” thin flexible patches capable of monitoring vital signs and more.

An excerpt from the first road map of Britain, published by John Ogilby when Fiennes was 15, in 1675. No word on whether Fiennes ever saw it, although she did write about visiting a college in Manchester that had a map collection.

See 17th-Century England Through the Eyes of One of the First Modern Travel Writers

Celia Fiennes traveled and wrote about her adventures—including a bit of life advice

Leeuwenhoek's early microscopic observations of rabbit sperm (figs. 1-4) and dog sperm (figs. 5-8).

The Long, Winding Tale of Sperm Science

…and why it’s finally headed in the right direction

Before St. Martin's living digestive system was studied, doctors knew what the digestive system looked like but not how it looked or behaved while working.

This Man’s Gunshot Wound Gave Scientists a Window Into Digestion

The relationship between St. Martin and the doctor who experimented on him was ethically dubious at best

The tentacles of the Portuguese man o' war, (which is technically a siphonophore, a group related to jellyfish), contain harpoon-like cells called nematocysts that deliver painful doses of venom.

Forget What You’ve Heard About the Pee Cure, Here’s How to Really Fix a Jellyfish Sting

Scientists studied what to do and what not to do when stung by a jellyfish. The result? Folk remedies are bad.

Researchers found that tadpole embryos were better able to fight off infection when their cells' natural electrical charge was manipulated.

Tweaking the Tiny Electrical Charges Inside Cells Can Fight Infection

It works in tadpoles. Could it work in humans?

Trending Today

Hospitals Have a Big Problem: Baking Soda

It’s common in kitchens, but a nationwide shortage is endangering more than baked goods

New Research

Sherpas Evolved to Live and Work at Altitude

The Nepali ethnic group handles oxygen more efficiently, allowing them to more easily live in the mountains

Aubrey de Grey says, “There’s no such thing as aging gracefully.”

Can Human Mortality Really Be Hacked?

Backed by the digital fortunes of Silicon Valley, biotech companies are brazenly setting out to “cure” aging

A prosthetic hand outfitted with an inexpensive webcam lets its user grab objects with less effort.

Prosthetic Limb ‘Sees’ What Its User Wants to Grab

Adding computer vision and deep learning to a prosthetic makes it far more effective

The soil microbe Bacillus subtilis is ubiquitous, but one rare strain yielded scientific pay dirt.

One Girl’s Mishap Led to the Creation of the Antibiotic Bacitracin

Margaret Treacy was the namesake for a breakthrough medication

Marie Curie and President Warren Harding walk down the White House steps arm in arm in 1921.

When Women Crowdfunded Radium For Marie Curie

The element was hard to get and extremely expensive but essential for Curie’s cancer research

An illustration from 'Professor Dowell's Head,' a 1925 science fiction story from Russian author Alexander Belyayev.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Good News, Everybody! Someone Once Patented Plans For Keeping A Severed Head Alive

It was what’s called a “prophetic patent”—one that isn’t real yet

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