Medicine

The Innovative Spirit

Thirty Years Ago, an Artificial Heart Helped Save a Grocery Store Manager

The Smithsonian, home to the Jarvik 7 and a host of modern chest-pumping technologies, has a lot of (artificial) heart

August 26, 2015

Innovative Spirit Health Care

The Future of 3D-Printed Pills

Now that the FDA has approved Spritam, an anti-seizure drug and the first 3D-printed pill, what’s next?

August 20, 2015

New Research

Lice That Can Resist Drugs Have Infested Half the States in the U.S.

Mutated pests that can survive common drugstore treatments have been found in at least 25 states so far

August 18, 2015

Cool Finds

Future Antibiotics for Humans Could Come From Ant Fungus Gardens

A unique symbiotic relationship exists between leaf-cutter ants, fungi and bacteria

August 17, 2015

Five Paralyzed Men Move Their Legs Again in a UCLA Study

As electrodes on the skin stimulated their spines, the study participants made “step-like” motions

August 17, 2015

New Research

This Sweet-Smelling Herb Can Ward Away Mosquitoes

Traditionally used by some Native American peoples, sweetgrass contains chemicals known to repel pesky bugs

August 17, 2015

New Research

Cadavers Are Teaching Doctors to Be More Empathetic

By getting to know the person behind the cadaver, new doctors are honing the skills they’ll use on living patients

August 17, 2015

Innovative Spirit Health Care

A Genetically Modified Yeast Turns Sugar Into Painkillers

Stanford scientists have engineered a strain of yeast that can produce opiates on its own

August 13, 2015

New Research

Experimental Ebola Vaccine Gives 100 Percent Protection in Trial

An unusual trial design helped prove the vaccine safe and effective in less than a year

July 31, 2015

A New Report Identifies 30 Technologies That Will Save Lives in the Next 15 Years

A panel of 60 health experts creates a short list of easy-to-use devices and treatments that could dramatically improve global health

July 28, 2015

Top Five Myths About Human Kidneys

From limiting alcohol consumption to detoxing, many misconceptions circulate about how to keep your kidneys healthy

July 28, 2015

New Research

Living Cells Armed With Tiny Lasers May Help Fight Disease

The biological light sources may one day help researchers see deeper into the body’s microscopic workings

July 27, 2015

Trending Today

The First Malaria Vaccine Could Be Released Soon

The vaccine isn’t as effective as hoped however, and needs several more approvals

July 25, 2015

Cool Finds

A List of All the Times People Have Tried to Build a Working Tricorder

Star Trek-style scanning has been a bit more complicated than expected

July 24, 2015

New Research

Over a Quarter-Million Vietnam War Veterans Still Have PTSD

Forty years after the war’s end, twice as many vets with combat-related PTSD are getting worse as those who are improving

July 22, 2015

New Research

Linking Multiple Minds Could Help Damaged Brains Heal

Monkeys and rats hooked up as “brainets” may lead to innovative treatments for Parkinson’s, paralysis and more

July 20, 2015

These Glasses Could Help the Blind See

Developed by Oxford scientists, SmartSpecs capture real time images and enhance the contrast for legally blind users

July 13, 2015

Cool Finds

When This Photographer Got Sick, He Started Taking Beautiful Photos of Painkillers and Tears

The extreme closeups were one way for the photographer to understand what he was taking

July 10, 2015

New Research

These Two Mutations Turned Not-so-Deadly Bacteria Into the Plague

The ancestor of the bacterium responsible for the Black Plague isn’t nearly as deadly

July 6, 2015

Cool Finds

Meet the Doctor Who Convinced America to Sober Up

Meet Benjamin Rush, father of the temperance movement, signer of the Declaration of Independence

July 6, 2015