Medicine

Raisin Health Monitor Sends Heart Rate Details To Your iPhone

What looks like a bulky female hygiene product is actually a health monitor that hooks up to an iPhone via Bluetooth, sending bodily information such as heart rates to the compatible app. It’s not on sale yet, with Proteus’ Raisin sensor only just being passed through the FDA, but it’s another step for the iPhone…

Health Kat Hannaford Apr 21

$3 MIT Plunger Heals Wounds Quickly with Suction

Using mysterious-yet-well-known medical knowledge about negative suction healing and a $3 plunger I swore I just helped my friend buy for his new apartment, MIT Grad Student Danielle Zurovcik may have invented something truly special. You see, negative pressure (suction) has been known to speed wound recovery time for decades, and there are in fact…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 18

Predict The Spread Of Viruses Across The Globe In Real Time

When a pandemic breaks out, disease circles the globe, often leaping from species to species. Now scientists think they can forecast where deadly viruses will strike next, using a new tool that predicts genetic mutation. Supramap doesn’t just track the spread of viruses – it tracks how the viruses are mutating as they jump into…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 13

In Safety Study, Sheep on Meth Are Shocked With Tasers

Getting shocked with a Taser while riding high on methamphetamines probably beats any white-knuckled cocaine experience hands down. And that’s exactly what happened to some lucky sheep in a new study that tested the effects of Tasers on meth-addled targets. Funded in part by Taser International, the study aimed to test whether Taser devices have…

io9 Jeremy Hsu - Popular Science Apr 13

A Drug That Manipulates Retroviruses To Fight Cancer

A potential therapy for cancer already lurks in our own genes. Chunks of ancient viruses lie embedded in the human genome. Administer just one protein to cancer cells and these built-in viruses go hyperactive, eventually killing the cell. The human genome is dotted with “endogenous retroviruses,” the remains of viruses that infected humans tens of…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 8

Electronic Noses Can Smell If You Have Asthma

Asthma affects about 300 million people around the world, but can be difficult to diagnose. That’s why scientists designed an electronic nose which can sniff the air exhaled by a patient to determine whether he or she has asthma. The electronic noses basically consist of a bunch of gas sensors which sample and analyze inhaled…

Health Rosa Golijan Apr 8

A Drug Discovered In The Soil Of Easter Island Could Cure Alzheimer’s

Rapamycin is a bacterial byproduct discovered in the soil of Easter Island. It extends the lives of animals, and now two independent studies show that it can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Is this the drug we’ve been waiting for? A study published yesterday in the Journal of Biological Chemistry confirmed that mice with Altzheimers…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 2

Tattletale Pills Reveal When You’re Off Your Meds

Maybe you’re forgetful, completely insane, or part of a clinical trial—whatever the reason, someone needs to know if and when you’re taking your medication. The simplest way of keeping track of your swallowing habits? Let the pills tattle. Folks at the University of Florida have devised a capsule which is coated with a “label embossed…

Health Rosa Golijan Mar 31

Watch Cells Mutate Into Cancer and Divide Crazily, In These Amazing Videos

Every day, the cells in your body are dividing like crazy – sometimes too much, which is the definition of cancer. Here you can see breast cancer cells in action, multiplying into what could become a tumorous growth. Yes, this film is dramatically speeded up – most of these cells would divide about twice in…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 31

This Living Human Bone Was Grown In Lab

Scientists have grown real, living human bones in the lab for the first time, completely from scratch, and ready to be inserted inside human flesh. Or given to my dog, as a delicious treat. Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic—Columbia University professor of biomedical engineering—achieved the feat for the first time using stem cells and molds generated from…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Mar 30

This Is the Future of the Fight Against Cancer

Look close. You may be staring at the end of cancer. Those tiny black dots are nanobots delivering a lethal blow to a cancerous cell, effectively killing it. The first trial on humans has been a success, with no side-effects: It sneaks in, evades the immune system, delivers the siRNA, and the disassembled components exit…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Mar 24

GaitMaster 5: The Mechanical Physical Therapist of the Future

Some injuries can leave people unable to walk and in need of physical therapy to guide their muscles through the re-learning process. This machine, the GaitMaster 5, assists with that therapy while adjusting to a patient’s progress. The GaitMaster 5 was initially intended as a solution to a “serious shortage of physical therapists” in Japan,…

Health Rosa Golijan Mar 23

5 Dystopias Healthcare Reform Could Prevent (And One It Could Cause)

We’ve heard a lot of hype, on both sides, about the healthcare reform bill President Obama signed today. But how will it really affect our future? Here are five dystopias it may save us from, and one it could cause. Oh, and there are spoilers in this post. Watch out! So the House of Representatives…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Mar 23

Why Onions Have Been Making Us Cry For 500 Million Years

There’s an evolutionary reason why people cry when they cut onions – it’s the body’s way of keeping us away from dangerous chemicals. And it’s such a useful adaptation that every living animal on Earth possesses it. The mechanics of why we cry when we cut onions have been understood for a while. Onions contain…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Mar 23

Swiss Autopsy Robot Comes Online

Virtobot may be helping humanity now, but it’ll know all our weaknesses when Skynet achieves sentience. That’s because it’s the world’s first autopsy robot – and it can examine a dead body inside and out without ever lifting a scalpel. The University of Bern’s Virtobot uses MRIs and computer tomography to take a 3D snapshot…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Mar 22

America Doesn’t Care About Cell Phone Radiation (But the Rest of the World Does)

When it comes to cell phone radiation, everyone thinks they’re an expert. Recently, however, GQ talked to the real experts, and though there’s no consensus, one thing’s clear: the rest of the world is worried. The U.S. is not. Last week I posted a link to a study of the 20 cell phones that emitted…

Health Kyle VanHemert Mar 20

When You’re Convinced Your Loved Ones Are Imposters

You’re looking at a woman who resembles your mother. She moves and talks like your mother, and she’s even dressed the same as your mother. In fact, she is your mother. But you’re absolutely certain that she’s an imposter. This is the experience of someone suffering from a Capgras delusion, a rare medical disorder in…

Health Kyle VanHemert Mar 20

Steve Jobs on Organ Transplant Lists: “I Almost Died” Waiting

When Steve Jobs received his liver transplant, he was considered “the sickest person on the waiting list.” Now he’s speaking out about the faults in California’s current organ donor system which left 400 people dying in wait last year alone: https://gizmodo.com/hospital-confirms-steve-jobss-transplant-denies-he-rec-5301887 “I was fortunate,” he said because he had the ability to fly cross country…

Health Rosa Golijan Mar 19

Nasal Spray Chills and Saves Brains After Cardiac Arrest

Consciousness lost, breathing stopped, pulse gone. Someone just slipped into cardiac arrest. In order to preserve the precious memories and thoughts at risk right now, we’re gonna have to squirt some perfluorocarbon coolant up a nose and chill a brain. It certainly sounds odd, but by using a device called RhinoChill to spray coolant up…

Health Rosa Golijan Mar 18

A Pill That Could Halt Cigarette Damage In Lungs

What if you could smoke without damaging your lungs? Researchers have discovered that blocking just one protein can prevent the lung inflammation caused by smoking, reducing the risk of some lung diseases in smokers. One protein, called GM-CSF, appears to control the progress of a common smoker’s ailment, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This disease…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 18

Raisin Health Monitor Sends Heart Rate Details To Your iPhone

$3 MIT Plunger Heals Wounds Quickly with Suction

Predict The Spread Of Viruses Across The Globe In Real Time

In Safety Study, Sheep on Meth Are Shocked With Tasers

A Drug That Manipulates Retroviruses To Fight Cancer

Electronic Noses Can Smell If You Have Asthma

A Drug Discovered In The Soil Of Easter Island Could Cure Alzheimer’s

Tattletale Pills Reveal When You’re Off Your Meds

Watch Cells Mutate Into Cancer and Divide Crazily, In These Amazing Videos

This Living Human Bone Was Grown In Lab

This Is the Future of the Fight Against Cancer

GaitMaster 5: The Mechanical Physical Therapist of the Future

5 Dystopias Healthcare Reform Could Prevent (And One It Could Cause)

Why Onions Have Been Making Us Cry For 500 Million Years

Swiss Autopsy Robot Comes Online

America Doesn’t Care About Cell Phone Radiation (But the Rest of the World Does)

When You’re Convinced Your Loved Ones Are Imposters

Steve Jobs on Organ Transplant Lists: “I Almost Died” Waiting

Nasal Spray Chills and Saves Brains After Cardiac Arrest

A Pill That Could Halt Cigarette Damage In Lungs

‘Marvel Rivals’ Wants to Start Being More Than Just a Hero Shooter

‘How Do We Make Sure That Claude Behaves Itself?’: Anthropic Invited 15 Christians for a Summit

See the Next ‘Hunger Games’ in This Trip Down Memory Lane

Indie Animation Is Having a Moment on YouTube

Trump’s World Liberty Financial Makes FTX-esque Move, Borrows Against Its Own Crypto Token

Steven Soderbergh Wanted to Take ‘Bond’ Back to the ’60s

If You Make Fart Music, ChatGPT Will Be the Most Supportive Girlfriend You Could Ask For

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

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