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Some of the most deadly human diseases work by worming their way inside your DNA, attaching themselves to the cell's chromosomes. This makes them almost impossible to remove. But a new molecule designed to bamboozle rogue DNA could change everything. More »
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The world's smallest ear doesn't belong to any animal. Instead, it's a tiny piece of gold suspended in a laser beam. It can hear sounds a million times fainter than any human ear can, making it a powerful acoustic microscope. More »
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The appendix is probably the most famous of humanity's vestigial organs, but it might not actually deserve the "vestigial" part of that title. The appendix may actually save vital bacteria for the body's later use. More »
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Scientists have long searched unsuccessfully for the genetic factors that cause schizophrenia. Now we know why: the disorder is actually caused by what happens in cells around the genes. That knowledge could give us our best treatment yet for schizophrenia. More »
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Even though malaria deaths are down a very encouraging 25%, it remains one of the most devastating diseases in the world. Now we might have an unexpected new tool to fight against the spread of malaria: our natural smelliness. More »
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Our most powerful antibiotics can kill many different kinds of bacterial infections at once, but we're still searching for a single all-purpose drug that kills viruses. We may have just discovered it. More »
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Some of the most foul smelling creatures on Earth are known simply as odorous frogs. These amphibians have a normal odor like that of rotting fish, but it's worth braving their disgusting smell for the life-saving substances that coat their bodies. More »
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We've known for a while now that moderate wine-drinking can confer some health benefits. Now a new study reveals moderate beer consumption can also reduce the risk of heart disease by 31%. So what's behind this unexpected health benefit? More »
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The use of embryonic stem cells in medical research has been a hot-button moral and ethical debate for years — but there may be a way to sidestep the issue entirely. Scientists have now isolated embryonic-like stem cells in human breast milk. More »
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A bacterium found in sewage water could revolutionize modern medicine. It's basically the bacterial equivalent of a vampire, spending its time hunting other bacteria and sucking out all their nutrients. This could revolutionize antibotics and stop the rise of "super bugs." More »
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Even by the standards of the 1500s, Simon Forman was a horrendous doctor. A known quack in an era when respected physicians barely knew what they were doing, Forman even spent time in jail for his dangerous practices. More »
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The 2011 Nobel Prizes have been announced, honoring preeminent achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, the promotion of peace, and economics. Here's what you need to know about the three science-related Nobel Prizes. More »
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The peanut allergy is one of the eight most common types of food allergies, and the common use of peanuts in a wide range of foods makes it particularly dangerous. But now scientists have a solution: trick your immune system. More »
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Antibiotics are one of the greatest breakthroughs of modern medicine, giving us a crucial weapon in the fight against infectious bacteria, but recently we've seen the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Now it seems this is a surprisingly ancient phenomenon. More »
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We've suspected it for awhile now, and now it's confirmed that the bacterium Yersinia pestis was responsible for the devastating plague that wiped out a third of Europe 650 years ago. But this ultimate killer started as something far different. More »
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It's fairly well-established that the children of older mothers are more likely to have genetic defects than those of their younger counterparts. Now we have some of the first solid evidence that older dads could carry a risk as well. More »
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The single-celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii lives infects rats, but it needs to be inside a cat's digestive system in order to reproduce. The parasite actually alters the brain of its rat host so that it won't be afraid of cats. More »
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Alcohol has its uses, medically speaking, and one of them might be staving off dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment. Moderate social drinking appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and similar diseases by a massive 23 percent. More »
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High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the leading risk factors behind strokes, heart failure, aneurysms, and other deadly serious medical conditions. But here's the weird thing about hypertension: we don't actually know what causes it. More »
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We think of cancer as a disease, a form of runaway cell growth within an organism. But we might not have realized what cancers really are: separate, brand new parasitic species that evolve from and prey upon their human hosts. More »
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That, at least, was Benjamin Franklin's theory. (He also said we should be early to rise, because he was a jerk, I guess.) But when scientists put this old maxim to the test, did they find any truth to it? More »
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Call it a silent killer: some 6 percent of the U.S. population has some kind of voice disorder, most of those resulting from scarring of the vocal cords that can lead to diminishing or even total loss of the ability to speak. Giving voice to the voiceless, a team of Harvard and MIT researchers have developed a synthetic, injectable material that can be implanted into scarred vocal cords to restore their function. More »
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Sooty mangabeys are a monkey species found on the western coast of central Africa. Their unique immunity to SIV, a relative of HIV, has intrigued medical researchers for decades. Now we know just how their immunity works. More »
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In the United States alone, 20 million people suffer from peripheral neuropathy, a condition that involves nerve degeneration and sometimes extreme pain, often without any explanation. Now we've found the culprit for this mysterious pain...and it's all one gene's fault. More »
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Some of you are undoubtedly considering a sexy, lucrative career in the rarified world of cat burglary. For all you would-be dapper scoundrels, here's a recent medical paper that'll be of interest. It's about the dangers of swallowing your prizes. More »
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Here's one more unexpected challenge for space travel: drugs crucial for treating everything from a mild headache to a serious infection don't work properly in the radically different environment away from Earth...and yes, radiation might be part of the problem. More »
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Cancer is one of the most difficult foes medical science has ever faced, but a controversial new idea might just show a way to victory. A group of scientists have evidence that cancer might be an evolutionary throwback to our most distant animal ancestor. More »
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Sure, spider venom can kill humans. But, if you know what you're doing, it can offer revolutionary cures and treatments for some of humanity's worst ailments. It's already curing impotence...and now help with heart failure, high blood pressure, and epilepsy. More »
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Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and now we know just where the disease it at its worst: in a cluster of 644 counties in 15 largely southeastern states, making up America's "Diabetes Belt." More »
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The venom of the Brazilian wandering spider has some seriously nasty effects, causing victims to lose control of their muscles, slowly lose the ability to breathe...and, if the victim is male, get an erection that lasts longer than four hours. More »
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In 2009, swine flu created a minor pandemic, only killing about 15,000 people but infecting millions more. The avian flu H9N2 is ravaging bird populations throughout Asia. They're bad enough on their own...but what if they joined forces? More »
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Botox injections are the most common cosmetic surgeries performed in the United States, with over 4.6 million people every year being injected with the botulinum toxin in order to paralyze facial muscles and prevent wrinkles. But botox doesn't just make people look younger (or, if done poorly, like a lion) - it might actually force its patients to stop feeling angry or sad, even if they don't want to. More »
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The first ever vaccine for drug addiction has just been created. By combining a cocaine-like molecule with part of the common cold virus, you get a vaccine that turns the immune system against cocaine, keeping it away from the brain. More »
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Your walking speed can tell a lot about you - including your life expectancy. Amazingly, your walking speed is just as good an indicator of how long you'll live as your health history, smoking habits, and blood pressure combined. More »
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Most fat cells are called white fat cells - they store excess energy and make it tough to lose weight. But we've discovered how to turn mice's white fat cells into energy burning brown fat cells, and humans could be next. More »
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Medical science finally has an answer to an age-old, all-important question: how do you free a trapped penis from a PVC pipe? Our male readers may want to keep this paper handy...you know, just in case. More »
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When a science paper promises to be about "The Electrovaginogram: study of the vaginal electric activity and its role in the sexual act and disorders", you pretty much know you're about to read something very special indeed. More »
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Sex can cause spikes in your heart rate, blood pressure, nervous system activity...and, for one poor soul, temporary blindness. Yes, that old wives' tale about sexual gratification making people go blind has, at long last, been proven true...sort of. More »
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The idea that cell phones can give you cancer has pretty much completely been dismissed as a myth. But that doesn't mean cell phones don't some health risks. Too much cell phone use can actually cause an allergic reaction. More »
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The causes of depression are many and complex, but who'd have thought too much light could be part of the problem? Hamsters who sleep in total darkness are less susceptible to depression, and the same could be true of humans. More »
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