Your Eyeballs May Be Covered in Disease-Fighting Bacteria
If the eyes are windows to the soul, they’re open windows, potentially letting in all kinds of unwelcome bugs. To ensure that doesn’t happen, our tears are loaded with microbe-killing compounds and immune cells. In fact, our eyes are so inhospitable that it was long thought they were the only part of our bodies which…
Four Terrifying Ways Space Can Kill You
We’re all clamoring to get into space these days, but lost in our excitement to fly to the Moon and colonize Mars is a brutal truth: the final frontier is a cold, inhospitable wasteland that’ll kill you at the first opportunity it gets. Astronauts already know this, but for the rest of us, here are…
This Is the Last Word on Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has had quite the week! The supposed health food has turned into a pariah thanks to the American Heart Association reviewing existing evidence and deciding it advises against the oil’s use. The headlines are still raging, with smart people are telling you that coconut oil is fine (just not a health food) and…
How Fake Science Saved Lives in Victorian London
Fake health news can feel like an epidemic these days, but it was also rampant during the Victorian era, when bodily ailments were often a matter of life-or death. But unlike the questionable remedies you may be familiar with—vaginal steaming for your cramps, or a float tank to chill your anxiety out?—some of the bogus ideas…
Mind-Controlled Computer Retrains Stroke Victims’ Brains to Help Them Move Again
Imagine having the technology to help patients with physical impairments retrain their minds to recover motor skills. Now, what if I told you this could work for people with significant brain injuries—like a stroke—as well? A new study published in Stroke by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrates that a…
