Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    If you’re awake, you’re probably eating

    The idea that we eat three meals a day is a myth. People eat nearly constantly, and that may not be good for our health.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Chemistry

    These bubbles treat wounds

    New research shows bubble-powered drugs can travel upstream, against the flow of blood, to seal wounds shut.

    By Meghan Rosen
  3. Brain

    Study challenges safety for teens of two depression drugs

    Scientists reanalyze data on the safety of common drugs to treat depression and find that they don’t seem to help teens. Worse, the drugs may harm them.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens
  4. Health & Medicine

    News Brief: People shed clouds of tell-tale germs

    Even after someone has left a room, a cloud of his or her germs laces the air, new data show. Watch out: That mix can be very individual — and even ID you!

    By Sarah Schwartz
  5. Animals

    Cool Jobs: Finding new uses for nature’s poisons

    Scientists study toxins and other natural compounds in search of alternatives to ineffective antibiotics and dangerous pesticides.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens
  6. Health & Medicine

    Store-receipt chemicals taint blood and urine

    Cashiers who handle receipts absorb potentially risky levels of chemicals that coat the receipts, a new study shows.

    By Beth Mole
  7. Health & Medicine

    Friends’ good moods can be contagious

    Good mental health spreads through teen social networks, but depression doesn’t, a new study finds.

    By Kathiann Kowalski
  8. Health & Medicine

    Nobel goes for developing drugs from nature

    The 2015 Nobel Prize in medicine went to scientists who used nature as the model for important human drugs to combat malaria and serious infections.

    By Tina Hesman Saey and Laura Sanders
  9. Health & Medicine

    Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain

    Alcohol — especially binge drinking — can harm teens. New research shows teen drinking may leave a lasting legacy.

    By Tara Haelle
  10. Health & Medicine

    How to print shape shifters

    3-D printing was only the beginning. Scientists are pursuing 4-D printing, creating objects that can move and interact with their surroundings.

    By Stephen Ornes
  11. Health & Medicine

    Teen friendships may make for healthier adults

    Scientists find that strong teen friendships — and a tendency to follow the crowd — may lead to better health in their 20s.

    By Alison Pearce Stevens
  12. Earth

    Cool Jobs: Finding foods for the future

    What's for dinner... tomorrow? Scientists are developing new foods to meet the demands of the growing population in a changing world.

    By Stephen Ornes