Health

Summertime ozone levels in the U.S. could rise 70% by 2050, according to a new study. Warmer temperatures related to climate change are spurring chemical reactions that increase overall levels of ground-level ozone, which can aggravate health problems such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.

This Tiny Metal Pill Is the Smallest Pacemaker Ever Implanted

The world is one step closer to a future where tiny ship-like vessels travel through our veins and fix our health problems. Recently, doctors across the United States implanted the world’s smallest pacemaker into cardiac patients. The device is roughly the size of a large vitamin and is attached directly to the heart without invasive…

Why Toenails Turn Yellow

Have you ever seen the toenails of your grandfather and thought he might be a troll? Those yellow, misshapen and brittle nails tend to make small children cringe, and in response, he wears knee high black socks with sandals. Known as Onychomycosis, this unshapely blemish effects about 10% of the total population. 20% of people…

Elvis Presley’s porcelain tooth is touring Great Britain to raise awareness of mouth cancer, which kills 5 people a day in the UK. The tooth is on loan from a Canadian dentist who bought it at an auction for $11,000. An entourage of Elvis impersonators is accompanying the tooth, while dentists provide free oral exams.

People Have Suffered From Gluten Intolerance For At Least 2,000 Years​

Analysis of the skeletal remains of an affluent young woman who lived in Tuscany some 2,000 years ago shows that celiac disease has existed since ancient times — as has the practice of avoiding certain foods. The woman’s remains were found in an ancient tomb at the Cosa archaeological site on the Tuscan coast in…

Pig Bladders Could Be the Secret to Healing Severe Muscle Injuries

When large chunks of muscle are lost in severe injuries, they don’t grow back. But now, scientists have discovered a way to regenerate some lost muscle with material from pig bladders—a technique actually quite common in medicine. The five men in this study published today (April 30) in Science Translational Medicine all suffered leg injuries…

Lack of Immunizations Cause Measles Outbreaks in Calgary and Edmonton

Alberta’s two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, have declared a measles outbreak. The province’s health service is asking people who show signs of the disease to stay indoors. Not surprisingly, the outbreak has been linked to dangerously low levels of immunizations. Relatedly, confirmed cases in Washington’s Whatcom County have been link to a current outbreak…

These Are The Most Polluted Cities In America

Did yours make the list? Photo Credit: Ben Amstutz | CC BY 2.0 If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, or California’s Central Valley, the answer is a hacking, hawking “yes.” The greater basin, and California’s major, midland valley, still have the worst air quality in the country, according to the American Lung…

Science’s Dirty Secret: All You Need to Know About Fecal Transplants

This is how far a mother will go. Your daughter has been sick for more than four years with a severe autoimmune disease that has left her colon raw with bloody ulcers. After multiple doctors and drugs have failed, you are frantic for her to get better. Then you send her disease into remission, virtually…

The Real Reasons that Parents Have Stopped Vaccinating Their Kids

Scientists have a lot of theories — not a lot of them flattering — about why some people have stopped vaccinating their children. But those are just theories. If we want to save lives, it’s time for us to figure out what’s really causing this outbreak of vaccine hesitancy, and do something about it. That’s…

“Big Government” Vaccine Program Has Saved 700,000 Lives

According to a report published today by the CDC, more than 732,000 children’s lives and $1 trillion have been saved in the last 20 years by a government program that was created for kids who didn’t have health insurance that covered vaccinations. The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program was implemented in 1994, following an outbreak…

Why Doesn’t the Heart Get Tired Like Other Muscles?

Anywhere from 60 to 100 times every minute of every day of every year of your (hopefully) long life, your heart beats. Unlike the other muscles in your body, however, your heart almost never gets tired . . . until it stops for good. Here’s why. Three Kinds of Muscles The human body is composed…

Your Future Flu Vaccines Could Be Grown Inside a Tobacco Plant

Finally, some good news about tobacco and your health. No, there is no nicotine involved, but there will be lots and lots of virus-like particles. Tobacco plants could be one of the fastest and most effective ways of making the seasonal flu vaccine—much faster than the current method using chicken eggs. The flu shot you…

In Iran, Medical Authorities Say Government Censorship Causes Cancer

For years, Iran has been blocking foreign television channels. Now, the country’s medical community is convinced that these electronic countermeasures are responsible for a growing number of cancer cases—and their concerns recently received support from a Grand Ayatollah. In Iran, satellite dishes are illegal, yet as many as half the people in the country own…

What Your Poop Is Trying to Tell You

What the hell is that? Seriously, did that just come out of you or did it crawl up the pipe? If you’ve just exorcised a poo that looks nothing like what you’ve eaten recently, it could be a sign of a serious illness. It could also just be that curry from last Wednesday, so it’s…

Mind Readers: The Scientists Setting Coma Victims Free

Thousands remain trapped between life and death. Three scientists are working to free them. Roger Highfield reports. “Imagine you wake up, locked inside a box,” says Adrian Owen. “It’s only just big enough to hold your body but sufficiently small that you can’t move. “It’s a perfect fit, down to every last one of your…

The Supreme Court Will Consider What Defines “Pregnancy”

Can a corporation claim to have religious beliefs? The Supreme Court will rule on that contentious question later this year. To answer, the justices may also have to address whether human life begins when an egg is fertilized, or when that egg is implanted in a womb. The case, Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.,…

Why Thyroid Conditions Are So Bad

It seems like just about everyone knows someone with a thyroid condition. Their symptoms can sometimes be wide ranging. Much like the IRS and their tax code, it can leave you a little confused about what exactly it does and why it can cause so many problems. In an effort to put this ignorance to…

Why Smoking Pot Makes You So Hungry

If you’ve ever smoked weed, chances are you’ve also taken that regrettable trip to 7 Eleven and stocked up on cheese puffs, microwave burritos, and, well, everything else edible. Then, when you wake up surrounded in wrappers, you wonder: WHY? Long story short, your body thought you were starving. Research published in Nature Neuroscience reveals…

Scientists Have Cloned Embryos From Adult Cells For the First Time Ever

Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned eighteen years ago, scientists have been trying and failing to use that same technique to create cloned human embryos from adult cells. Now, they’ve finally succeeded, in what could a major step toward personalized organ transplants and other therapies that rely on a pool of stem cells. Last…