Health

Scientists at UCLA and Penn argue that malfunctioning fat, not necessarily too much of it, is what makes people metabolically unhealthy.

Risqué or just risky?

The catastrophic birth defect anencephaly affects about 1 in 4,600 pregnancies in the U.S. It is largely preventable with folic acid supplements.

Scientists ranked countries on their end-of-life care. The U.S. fared poorly.

A boy in Germany seems to be the first person to be cured of a rare and painful skin condition commonly called “butterfly disease.”

For the fewer than 50 people with this blood type, finding a blood transfusion could be extremely difficult.

It started with a 22-year-old woman, named in papers only as Mrs McK.

Stem cell-derived chondrocytes could be the key to regenerating damaged cartilage.

After a night of partying and heavy drinking, you might be tempted to Google “hangover cures.” Unfortunately, there aren’t any.

The brain appears to remember immune responses, and memories can trigger them to happen again. This might explain some psychosomatic illnesses.

Done properly, peer review requires that journals fulfill their role as knowledge custodians, rather than being mere knowledge distributors.

The placebo effect is not the “power of positive thinking.” The fact that it is getting stronger is not a good development.

A divergence in mortality rates between U.S. states suggests that public health policy plays a substantial role in how long people live.

The model is almost eight hours ahead of a doctor’s recognition of a patient’s deterioration.

A small, Seattle-based study will look to see if the psychedelic can alleviate the pandemic’s mental health impact.

Americans have a lower life expectancy than people in other rich countries despite paying much more for healthcare. We explore the number of factors which might explain this difference.

One patient’s surprising results have experts cautiously optimistic.

The scientists are headed “straight to the FDA” to begin human trials.

Experiencing too much pleasure and not enough pain may yield counterintuitive consequences.

Evolutionary game theory could tip the advantage to medicine.

Immune booster or pure torture?

Roughly half the world population, including in America, has insufficient levels of vitamin D. UV irradiated mushrooms can help.

There is no rule that will force Omicron or another COVID variant to become less deadly over time, but there is reason for hope.

The results of a recent study suggest that some clinicians might be failing to explore other causes when treating gender dysphoria.

The paper-thin device may also someday be used to stimulate bone growth.

The cause of Alzheimer’s is still not fully understood, but we might be able to vaccinate against it anyway.

Some of the most popular “anti-aging” diets show promise in rodent studies. But are they effective for humans?

“This will be one of the most important datasets since the mapping of the Human Genome.”

An evolutionary biologist explains why you probably won’t grow a tail.

Isn’t more sleep always better?