Health & Medicine

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. Health & Medicine

    Scientists Say: Virulence

    The virulence of a germ is a measure of its potential to cause disease.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  11. Brain

    Childhood stress can leave changes in the adult brain

    A new study finds that young men who had experienced lots of stress early in life carried a lasting legacy — changes in the size and shape of their brains.

    By Teresa Shipley Feldhausen
  12. Health & Medicine

    New treatments may rally ex-president’s fight against cancer

    Former President Jimmy Carter has a potentially lethal type of skin cancer that has already spread to his liver and brain. Recent improvements in medicine may help him fight it.

    By Tina Hesman Saey