Exercise helps make your arteries more elastic

Exercise improves brain blood flow, stimulates neural growth, and more

Exercise has dramatic effects on human biology, including reducing some of the long-term harms associated with chronic stress. Its effects are also pronounced in the brain, including improved memory retention, sleep, cognitive functioning, and more.

Exercise causes diet-independent changes in the gut microbiome

Cardiovascular exercise has been found to boost the gut's population of beneficial bacteria, and exercise overall decreases the likelihood of developing a "leaky gut," a condition in which a porous gut lining allows bacteria to leak into the bloodstream and cause inflammation.

Ten things to know about your heart

Your heart does amazing things day in and day out. Its main job is crucial: It keeps oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. Did you know that, other than your cornea, every cell in your body gets blood from your heart? You may not think...

Myokines are molecules that facilitate some of the benefits of exercise

When muscles contract, they release ‘hope molecules’ (myokines) such as IL-6 and irisin. These proteins then travel through the bloodstream to reduce inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and even support brain repair. This piece illustrates how movement triggers a systemic healing cascade throughout the human body.

Yoga can be beneficial for aging practitioners

Studies suggest that yoga can help alleviate several diseases associated with aging by lowering blood pressure, reducing blood fat levels, and combating obesity. It has also been shown to increase telomerase activity, which helps slow cell aging.

Health officials recommend at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week

This official guideline from the CDC defines the baseline recommendation for healthy adult activity. These recommendations also emphasize that any movement is better than no movement, and that even short bursts of activity spread throughout the week benefit the mind and body.

Astronauts exercise on the International Space Station

Astronauts maintain bone, muscle, and cardiovascular health with physical activity. It's crucial astronauts make time to exercise for approximately two hours per day. This resource offers a behind-the-scenes look at how high-intensity workouts help prevent muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and aerobic decline during months-long space missions.

'Viscoelasticity' allows muscles to be elongated briefly after stretching

The protective tissues around skeletal muscles consist of elastic proteins like collagen. Stretching them expands their length while retaining strength, ideal for athletes.

Certain medications that affect blood flow or mood boost the risk of heatstroke

Drugs that narrow blood vessels, beta blockers that regulate blood pressure, diuretics, antidepressants, and antipsychotics can all affect the body's ability to regulate its internal body temperature, and so individuals taking these medications need to take special care in extreme heat and when exercising in hot conditions.

Pregnancy causes a woman's blood volume to increase by up to 50%

This change, to support the developing fetus, puts stress on the heart and blood vessels. A pregnant woman's heart rate also increases as she pumps more blood each minute to support fetal growth.

How endurance athletes can build resilience

Long-distance runners and other endurance athletes can improve their performances using tips explored in this article. Findings from two recent studies show that strength training, high-altitude training, and intense interval sessions are all potential methods for ameliorating long-term athletic capabilities.

Blood Pressure and Diabetes

New meta-analysis shows blood pressure reductions with ACE inhibitors and ARBs are associated with a lower diabetes risk, but other types of antihypertensive agents have the opposite effect.

Stroke risk doubles each decade after age 55

While age is the greatest risk factor, genetics, diet, and overall health play a prominent role in determining individual stroke risk. Prevention focuses heavily on modifiable risk factors. High blood pressure is the single most important controllable risk factor, contributing to both types of stroke.

VO2 max measures the body's ability to use oxygen to produce energy

VO2 max is the maximum rate at which the body can use oxygen to aerobically produce energy—adenosine triphosphate—for use during intense exercise. Aerobic exercise increases VO2 max, counteracting age-related decline by increasing the body's capillary count and remodeling the heart's left ventricle, increasing the amount of blood it pumps.

Arteries with microplastic deposits linked to higher risk of cardiovascular events

Research shows that microplastics and nanoplastics can accumulate in major arteries, and patients with these deposits are significantly more likely to suffer heart attacks, strokes, or death. These deposits are possible due to these particles' ability to cross blood barriers.

Most things you would get tested for at the doctor’s office are influenced by circadian rhythm

In this video, a Salk Institute Researcher offers daily habit tips focused on aligning with your circadian rhythms. She notes heart rate and blood pressure are highest in the afternoon, for example, and there’s a triglyceride peak in the morning. Generally, she says, it’s a good idea to schedule your doctor’s checkups at the same time of day each year so there’s consistency across your data.

What is cardiovascular disease?

Cardiovascular diseases are a range of related health conditions that develop in the heart and blood vessels. This article and related infographics detail cardiovascular disease types and treatments.

Sleep apnea explained

While sleep apnea is directly tied to an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic health problems, many affected people are unaware of their problem. Sleep apnea occurs when upper airway muscles relax during sleep and pinch off the airway, which can cause breathing to pause for 10 seconds or more at a time. Sleep partners (rather than those inflicted) are often the first to notice breathing pauses or loud snoring in their bedmates.

Inhalers dilate airways and reduce inflammation

People with asthma suffer from constricted airways in their lungs, whether from muscle pressure, mucus buildup, or inflammation. Inhalers help people breathe medicine directly into their lungs to immediately relieve these symptoms.

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

Strength training doesn't require fancy equipment—cans, water bottles, and shopping bags work well

The goal with strength training is to stimulate your muscles by straining them a bit, so using any everyday items at home that you can barely lift easily will help you meet that goal. Over time, users can increase the weight they're lifting and their repetitions to provide a greater workout.

Arthritis explained, with Dr. Nick Golinvaux

Arthritis, a condition affecting millions globally, is more than just joint pain—it’s a breakdown of cartilage that cushions bones, leading to stiffness, swelling, and discomfort. While often associated with aging, arthritis can affect people of all ages, especially after injuries. Though there’s no cure yet, treatments range from medication and physical therapy to surgical interventions like joint replacements.

See how the Ebola virus affects blood circulation in the human body

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, causing a cascade of events that result in small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels, and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

Why don't giraffes get hypertension?

The average blood pressure of a giraffe is about double that of a human, yet they don't suffer from the symptoms of high blood pressure that humans do: stiffening of the left heart ventricle, shortness of breath, fatigue, or swollen legs and ankles. This article explains how giraffes have evolved to have the "biological equivalent of support stockings."

Swimming in schools helps some fish conserve energy in turbulent flows

Scientists studying groups of giant danios swimming in turbulent waters found that the fish used up to 79% less energy than they did when swimming individually in the same conditions. The same fish were found to use the same amount of energy in turbulent and calm water when in schools.

How specialized oxygen mixtures like heliox enable deep diving without feeling drunk

Beyond a depth of about 30 meters (98 feet), if divers are breathing surface air, which is about 78% nitrogen, underwater pressure forces more nitrogen into the bloodstream and induces nitrogen narcosis, whose symptoms resemble alcohol intoxication. Through saturation diving, where nitrogen is replaced with helium—an inert gas—deep divers can maintain cognitive function while working for extended periods.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

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

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

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

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

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.

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.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.