Health & Medicine

Social media addiction, though not a clinical diagnosis, refers to the idea that infinite scroll, notifications, and algorithms override one's ability to stop using them.

The collapse of gas bubbles in the joint synovial fluid causes 'cracking' knuckles.

Diabetes drug GLP-1 is a peptide (that's what the 'P' is for).

Emerging research suggests that cannabis, used by about 9% of American adults as a sleep aid, may suppress rapid eye movement and lead to worse quality sleep and fewer remembered dreams. (Paywall may apply.)

Red light therapy—a treatment harnessing a specific form of energy that penetrates the top layers of skin—is marketed for skincare and wellness, but has its roots in NASA plant growth research.

Epigenetic editing—altering gene expression by removing or adding chemical groups on DNA—is making significant strides in the lab, even lowering cholesterol in monkey experiments by about 70%. (Free w/email.)

Prisoners granted compassionate release due to severe illness often stay months—or years—largely because nursing homes are reluctant to take prisoners.

Chronic exposure to traffic noise is associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease.

The Presidential Fitness Test, designed to measure and promote schoolchildren's health, has returned to schools under the Trump administration after it had been retired by the Obama administration in 2012.

Western babies often lack a gut microbe common elsewhere.

Mosquito-borne illnesses have killed two captive orcas at SeaWorld since they became water park attractions.

Over one million people are estimated to travel to Istanbul each year for a hair transplant.

Humans accurately detect their goose bumps only about one-third of the time.

Visualize the global supply chain of medicine, which may begin with basic research in the US, but outsource intermediate steps.

Male pattern baldness accounts for more than 95% of hair loss in men and is characterized by thinning hair, hair loss, and a receding hairline.

Explore this real-time global air quality map with data reported from more than 10,000 stations around the world.

Watch a histotripsy procedure, a novel noninvasive cancer treatment approach used to destroy tumors with high-intensity sound waves.

Somatic expansion, the lifelong growth of specific repeating DNA sequences, is being studied as a potential treatment target for Huntington's disease and other disorders. (Paywall may apply.)

Sleep deprivation leads to the buildup of dangerous molecules in the gut.

Statins lower your cholesterol, a fatty substance made by the liver, by limiting buildup in the arteries and reducing the risk of deposits breaking off, reducing both heart attack and stroke risks.

Experience a century of America's healthcare advances with this medical visualization, tracing a sampling of healthcare innovations from head to toe.

Retired professional soccer players are showing signs of potential neurological impacts in midlife, according to a study presented at the July 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London.

One in 10 adults worldwide has diabetes.

Grief can trigger broken heart syndrome, a painful condition that is often mistaken for a heart attack.

In the 1960s, Virginia became home to the first emergency department in the US.

Iceberg lettuce was the salad staple people ate for most of the 20th century, popular due to its durability, long shelf life, and mild flavor.

Alzheimer's can cause significant brain shrinkage in the affected brain regions, including the hippocampus.

Blood evolved many times over hundreds of millions of years.

A single-gene mutation in the FOXC2 gene gave actress Elizabeth Taylor two rows of eyelashes.

It took scientists 277 attempts to successfully clone Dolly from an adult sheep mammalian cell, underscoring the immense undertaking and challenges of cloning—some of which still persist today, 30 years later.

Five patterns may define how we sleep—not just night owl or early bird.

In June 2026, EU food safety regulators approved the sale of a GLP-1-inducing food additive, a change that may lead to 'supercharged' cereals and breads in Europe within a year. (Free w/email).

Insurance coverage for GLP-1s remains uneven, but Medicare began covering it in some instances in July 2026.

The Ancient Egyptians developed the first pregnancy test—and scientists tested it in the 1960s and discovered it was accurate about 70% of the time.

There are hundreds of subtypes of cancer, making a universal cure nearly impossible.

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.

Used since the 1940s, 'forever chemicals' include thousands of different types of substances routinely integrated into industry and consumer products, yet research suggests they can accumulate in the body over time.

Scientists have created a cell from scratch—called a SpudCell—proof-of-concept work that a lab-made cell can feed, grow, and replicate like a natural cell.

The earliest evidence of cancer was found in a 1.7-million-year-old fossil—discovered in the toe of an ancestor of modern-day humans.

Based on its varied symptoms, scientists think that long COVID-19 is not a single disease, but rather a group of different conditions triggered by COVID-19 infection.

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

Biohacking to boost personal health has become a concept that encompasses everything from vitamin regimens and cryochambers to brain implants and red light therapy.

Depression changes the brain, causing distinct structural alterations visible on brain scans, but effective treatment can eventually make a depressed brain resemble a healthy one.

Multiple sugar substitutes were accidental discoveries when lab workers didn't wash their hands.

Early 20th-century ID cards protected trans people in Germany using hormone therapy.

Humans can get tuberculosis from drinking raw milk, but milk pasteurization kills pathogens, including the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

Fruit fly sperm are gigantic—about 40 times larger than human sperm, according to scientific research published in June 2026.

Powassan virus, a rare tick-borne disease named after the Canadian town where it was discovered in 1958, is on the rise in the northeastern United States, and it kills roughly 10% to 15% of patients with symptomatic disease.

No one is tracking the total number of animals used for research across US labs, though partial data without any rodents puts the 2024 count above 775,000 animals, including some 40,000 dogs and 100,000 primates.

mRNA vaccines teach the immune system how to respond to a threat, using a molecule called messenger RNA.