Humans
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Melatonin
Levels of this hormone rise at night when we are asleep and drop during the day. This helps to control when we sleep and wake up.
- Health & Medicine
Worms in the gut keep mice from getting plump on high-fat food
Parasites kept mice from gaining weight on a high-fat diet. But receiving transplants of immune cells from these wormy mice also halted weight gain in mice without worms.
- Health & Medicine
Many women take unnecessary risks with sky-high heels
A teen’s study confirms that women wearing high heels are more likely to fall than when wearing flats. She also found — surprise — that men tend to prefer women in flats.
- Health & Medicine
Catching sports cheaters with a doping detector
Doping athletes often don’t get caught until after the competition is over. These two teens decided to come up with a faster test.
- Brain
Belly bacteria can shape mood and behavior
Our guts and our brains are in constant communication with the goal of managing a whole lot more than food digestion. Their conversations can affect stress, behaviors — even memory.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is the vagus?
The vagus nerve runs from the brain all through the body. It controls many basic functions, including how fast the heart beats.
- Psychology
Your window to learn new languages may still be open
Results from an online grammar quiz suggest that people who start learning a second language at age 10 or 12 can still learn it well.
- Health & Medicine
Bad food? New sensors will show with a glow
Sensors that glow around dangerous germs could be built into packaging to warn people of tainted foods.
- Health & Medicine
Sore knees may get 3-D printed relief
Teen researchers are looking into ways to use 3-D printers to make materials to replace, support or treat tissues of the body.
- Earth
Restaurant diners may ingest extra pollutants
People who dine out have higher levels of certain potentially harmful pollutants in their bodies than do people who eat home-cooked meals, new data show.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a word used to describe any sounds higher than a person can hear. It’s also a technique used to see inside the body.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists discover how norovirus hijacks the gut
Noroviruses make people vomit, but scientists didn’t actually know why. It now turns out that those viruses cause their misery by attacking special “tuft” cells in the gut.
