Can we speed up our metabolisms?

Is metabolism related to weight loss?

Read this article to better understand metabolism and why doctors say it's only one piece in the puzzle to managing weight. Metabolism breaks down and converts what we consume into energy, which provides fuel for all of our body's functions—both...

Sleep deprivation may slow metabolism

This article explains that, according to research from Penn State, restricting sleep for just a few days can affect how the human body metabolizes fats and change how satisfied people feel after a meal. The study found that people who don’t get...

Weight loss lessons from 'The Biggest Loser' contestants

This article dives into findings from studies conducted on contestants of "The Biggest Loser" that look at the correlation between weight loss, weight gain, metabolism, and physical activity. The studies support the theory of metabolic adaptation,...

Explore the complex relationship between calories and weight

What if you found out that weight loss is actually much more complex than "calories in, calories out" and that the 2,000 calorie-a-day recommendation may not actually be accurate?

Spontaneous metabolism may give clues to origins of life

Read this article to learn more about the discovery that suggests that metabolism could have begun spontaneously on our planet—and why it means that scientists may need to rethink how we define life’s origins. A team of researchers at the...

Exercise changes your genes without changing your DNA

Physical activity can turn beneficial genes on and harmful genes off, without altering the underlying DNA code. This engaging article explains the epigenetic mechanisms that take place with exercise and ultimately result in improved metabolism, lower inflammation, and optimized brain function.

Multiple new research paths may lead to slowing (or even reversing) aging

Aging has always been inevitable, but fasting, epigenetic reprogramming, and parabiosis seem to help people stay young. By studying centenarians, memory, and even the humble roundworm, scientists are looking for the genetic basis to live not just a long life, but a healthy one.

History's weirdest weight loss fads, fact-checked

Nothing catches popular attention more than a claim to have found a quick weight-loss technique. History shows us such claims are often unfounded. Dr. Michael Mosley explores extreme weight-loss tips from history, from tapeworms to vinegar diets.

How we frame stress—as good or bad—seems to alter how it affects us

This podcast discusses research that indicates stress perception may drastically affect how we respond to it. In research exploring if our stress is presented as diminishing our health versus if we're told it enhances our performance, it will lead to differences in how successful participants are at performing tasks—with the enhancers doing better.

The science of dogs, from wolf origins to color-blindness

This under 10-minute podcast episode dives into the rich, fascinating science behind dogs: From their world-class sense of smell to their domestication from wolves.

Why processed foods can be so addictive

In recent years, many critics have voiced their concerns about the food industry and how ultra-processed foods affect our health. Despite our awareness of these issues, processed foods are still incredibly hard to remove from our diet. In this podcast by The Guardian, Dr. Chris van Tulleken explains how “junk food” is created to get us hooked, how it negatively affects us, and what we can do to improve our eating habits.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Is human evolution speeding up or slowing down?

In the past 3,000 years, many populations have evolved genetic adaptations to their local environments. People in Siberia and the high arctic are uniquely adapted to survive extreme cold. The Bajau people can dive 70 meters and stay underwater for almost 15 minutes. So what are other recent changes? And will our technological innovations impact our evolution?

How to properly use semaglutides

This podcast with a nutritionist and a medical doctor discusses how useful semaglutide can be for weight loss. It also outlines the need for patients to set reasonable expectations and to make changes to both diet and exercise as part of an overall weight management strategy. The experts note that failure to make meaningful changes outside of using semaglutide may mean patients need to stay on the drug in order to keep the weight off.

The gut microbiome, explained

This video from 1440 takes a high-level look at what populates the gut microbiome, its purpose, how it affects our health, and much more.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

When is someone actually dead?

Death is a process, not a sudden flip of a switch. Technology can now interrupt this process at various stages, begging the question of when exactly death happens in the dying process. This 33-minute podcast episode explores this question and the...

Genetic tests aren't always actionable, which is one reason genetic counselors are so vital

This podcast interview with a Harvard Medical School professor focused on cancer genetics and prevention discusses the specifics of genetic testing and insights and the challenges of processing the outcomes of the testing and what may be actionable—or not.

World records are often broken later in the day—and scientists wonder if muscle clocks explain the difference

For reasons that are still not entirely clear, on average, people tend to lift more weight and achieve other exercise feats later in the day. Theories to explain this discrepancy include muscle clocks are at peak performance in the afternoon and that there's morning-to-afternoon variation in core body temperature, hormones, and neural activity.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn

This NPR video makes clear that there are surprising similarities between how our bodies and fireworks function. Fireworks and our bodies are both packed with carbon atoms, and have controlled releases of energy that create heat—keeping the human body warm or fueling fireworks' heat, respectively. What's more, the human body even emits a tiny bit of light somewhat similar to fireworks—though it's not visible to the human eye.

'Slow productivity' as a humane approach to work

Work is increasingly encroaching on every part of our lives, while digital technologies enable supervisors to micromanage every part of an employee’s day. “Slow productivity” is a movement to alter the pace and quality of one’s work to avoid burnout and provide a more humane approach to work.

Some Nike shoes are actually making runners too fast

In 2018, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge lowered the world marathon record to 2:01:39 in a pair of Nike Vaporflys. The unusually thick running shoes sparked controversy around the shoe regulations for professional runners.

Are smart cities a dumb idea?

Smart cities require vast troves of data to run, making their systems attractive to hackers. Listen to this one hour podcast to learn about the risks and what is being done to mitigate them.

Most expiration dates are completely made up

Producers, sellers, and consumers waste tons of food. In this 20-minute episode, John Oliver discusses the shocking amount of food we don’t eat.

Here's why pennies don't make sense

Did you know that pennies cost roughly 3 cents to produce? That fact doesn't seem to make sense, being that pennies are only worth 1 cent each. This podcast episode explains why we still have pennies, plus where they came from, why Americans don't use pennies, and how we got here. Click here to listen.

How public policy shapes demographic trends

This IMF podcast explores the population booms and busts throughout human history. According to Harvard economist and demographer David Bloom, it took more than 50,000 years for the world population to reach 1 billion. But since 1960, we have added...

Understanding time dilation

The faster you go, the slower time ticks for you. And the stronger the gravitational field acting on you, the slower time ticks for you. These phenomena – collectively called time dilation – were first explained by Albert Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity. In this 11-minute video, beloved astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains them to comedian Chuck Nice.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.