Health & Medicine

Stress contributes to gray hair because when the body experiences stress, the sympathetic nervous system releases specific hormones that influence pigment-producing cells.

Early 20th-century debates about horses with 'paranormal mathematical abilities' helped shape modern approaches to psychological research.

Every organ in a mother's body changes during pregnancy as her body produces hormones that relax muscles, allowing for the needed expansion.

Cerebrospinal fluid flushes waste from your brain during sleep, performing a nightly brain cleanup that's an important purpose of sleep.

More than a third of America's incarcerated population has a mental illness.

Less than 1% of Americans are allergic to penicillin, though about 10% of Americans believe they have this allergy.

Explore this animated story about loneliness that situates modern statistics about isolation.

Hikma v. Amarin was a case heard by the US Supreme Court in 2026 with implications for generic drug prices.

CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that lets scientists cut out and replace damaged DNA.

Listen to why thousands of donated human kidneys are thrown away annually, even as thousands of people are awaiting a kidney transplant.

In Indonesia, microplastics rain down when trash is burned, and people may ingest the equivalent of 3 credit cards per month—on average.

HIV sidelines your immune system by destroying T cells, eventually rendering the body unable to fight off even minor illnesses.

Humans may have as many as 100,000 to 150,000 individual hairs on our scalps, growing at a rate of roughly 1 centimeter per month.

Explore the current landscape for patient consent with this 1440 Original video tied to Henrietta Lacks' legacy.

US states have reported over $25B in tax revenue from recreational cannabis sales and medical marijuana.

Social media can be a valuable public health tool, combating misinformation, advancing health research, boosting social mobilization, and raising awareness of health services and events.

Small genetic changes that accumulate over time force flu vaccines to be updated regularly.

A baby's due date is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period—not when sexual intercourse occurred.

Before alarm clocks, people relied more heavily on their circadian rhythms, humans hired to wake them, and on tools such as candle clocks that dropped pins in metal trays at roughly set intervals.

Oregon voters in 2020 greenlit adult use of psilocybin—the active ingredient in magic mushrooms—in state-licensed centers, and a 2026 analysis indicates the program has good safety and satisfaction data.

Vision experts generally don't recommend 'blue light blocking' glasses because there's no scientific evidence that the light from computer screens damages eyes.

Some dementia cases may be linked to treatable microorganism infections in the brain.

NASA worries about the reactivation of dormant viruses during missions—particularly the virus that causes shingles—because spaceflight suppresses the human immune system and elevates stress hormones, making it more challenging to stay healthy.

Explore a technical look at the measles virus and its toll on humanity through the ages.

West Nile Virus has been detected in American alligators, and outbreaks have led to substantial economic losses on alligator farms.

'Weight cycling'—when someone repeatedly loses and gains weight—can harm an individual's metabolism.

The oldest medical report of a near-death experience dates to around 1740.

The measles vaccine has saved an estimated 94 million lives since its introduction.

Patients are messaging their doctors online more than ever—recent research suggests portal messages have risen by 157% since 2020.

Social media platforms benefit not just from ensuring they have satisfied users, but also from the personal data they scoop up and can then sell to online advertisers.

See this graphic of the complex malaria transmission lifecycle.

Discover how strength training may help your brain and what happens inside your cells when you work out with this original '1440 Explores' podcast.

Discover the latest information on US measles cases in the US from official outbreak tracking figures.

Explore 1,800+ exercises with an interactive muscle map that lets you click any muscle to see targeted exercises, including video tutorials and written instructions.

A rare complication of measles is that, although a patient may appear to recover, the virus can linger in the body and continue to replicate, leading to a progressive and fatal breakdown of the central nervous system that occurs years or decades after initial infection.

Without the option of modern blood transfusions, some doctors in the mid-1800s tried to help save cholera patients by injecting them with cow's milk, hoping it would boost their nutrition and hydration.

In 1933, the influenza virus was first identified through 'ferret flu' experiments, which proved that the disease was viral—not bacterial.

Scientists are using CRISPR to genetically modify felines so they don't trigger allergies in humans.

Repeated head injuries, which may occur in collision sports at the youth, amateur, and professional levels, can lead to CTE and early dementia.

'Golden blood' is the rarest blood type in the world—fewer than 50 people are known to have it.

A scientist successfully treated her own breast cancer by injecting the tumor with lab-grown viruses.

Legionnaires' disease is named after a 1976 outbreak at a state convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia.

Bedbug problems have been increasing, and some 2023 research suggests the tiny insects may be capable of spreading 'superbug' MRSA.

See the global blindness burden by cause and continent.

Explore this blood type interactive to learn more about how the 8 most common blood types are defined.

A robot can now stand in for a phlebotomist and draw blood from adult patients after the FDA approved the device in August 2026.

Scientists are using CRISPR to genetically modify felines so they don't trigger allergies in humans.

About 95% of people are naturally immune to leprosy.

Narcolepsy occurs when the brain loses its ability to control its sleep-wake cycle.

Hear what it's like to have malaria from a patient who suffered from the mosquito-borne disease.