Just how many cups of coffee is it safe to drink a day?

Our favorite over-the-counter medication has its limits.

  • A study of hundreds of thousands of people finds the upper safe limit for coffee consumption.
  • Too much coffee puts drinkers at an increased cardiovascular risk.
  • Say no to that seventh cup.
Keep reading Show less
medical research disease hack human body food work coffee high blood pressure health

What is the origin of thinking? A new book argues that it's action, not language.

Barbara Tversky takes an outdated idea to task in Mind in Motion.

  • In Mind in Motion, Stanford psychologist Barbara Tversky argues that action is the foundation of thinking.
  • Tversky focuses on a variety of communication systems that transcend language, such as gestures, signs, maps, accounting, and music.
  • Paying attention to our environment makes us better communicators and, arguably, better thinkers.
Keep reading Show less
language brain neuroscience biology philosophy psychology

Deer antlers are a 'controlled' form of bone cancer growth

Future cancer research may come from studying antler growth.

  • Antlers in ruminants (deer, moose, elk and reindeer) can grow up to half a meter in one month.
  • Researchers studying their genomes have found how they do it.
  • Genes that both activate and turn off cancer are important to this process.
Keep reading Show less
research science animals cancer research genetics cancer

New research sheds light on a possible cause of autism: processed foods

The more we learn about the microbiome, the more the pieces are fitting together.

Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Surprising Science
  • A new study from the University of Central Florida makes the case for the emerging connection of autism and the human microbiome.
  • High levels of Propionic Acid (PPA), used in processed foods to extend shelf life, reduces neuronal development in fetal brains.
  • While more research is needed, this is another step in fully understanding the consequences of poor nutrition.
Keep reading Show less
health human body neuroscience biology medical research autism spectrum disorder

One day of paid work a week is enough for mental health perks, British researchers say

We're going to have to reckon with our work week sooner than later.

Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images
Culture & Religion
  • Researchers discovered that eight hours of work per week reduces mental health issues by 30 percent.
  • Working a full-time job, roughly 40 hours per week, does not result in further mental health gains.
  • Societies are going to have to grapple with a new distribution of work as AI and robotics will soon replace many jobs.
Keep reading Show less
mental health depression ai robots public health work

The looming superbug crisis: Politics, profit, and Big Pharma

Here's how we stop a health crisis before it wreaks havoc on us.

Videos
  • Alexander Fleming discovered a fungus that produced a chemical that could stop nearly every bacteria in its path.
  • The 1950s are known as the Golden Era of Antibiotic Development. However, today, there is a looming superbug crisis because bacteria has mutated whilst we've focused on treating other diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.
  • Many companies in the pharmaceutical industry don't want to take on the expensive risk of finding another antibiotic drug. However, a potential superbug crisis may compel us to use tax-break and patent policies to incentivize them to do so.
Keep reading Show less
science microbes health politics bacteria illness medical research public health policy capitalism pharmaceuticals drugs matt mccarthy