Health & Medicine

  1. photo of a mouse standing on its hind legs in a glass bowl and peering over the edge
    Health & Medicine

    A hormone shot helped drunk mice sober up quickly

    Drunk mice injected with the hormone FGF21 woke up and regained their balance faster than inebriated mice that did not receive the shot.

    By Freda Kreier
  2. photo of Wilfried Mutombo Kalonji looking at a slide under a microscope as another scientist stands in the background
    Health & Medicine

    Sleeping sickness is nearing elimination. An experimental drug could help

    Clinical trials of acoziborole are under way in sub-Saharan Africa, where sleeping sickness is endemic.

    By Meghan Rosen
  3. An illustration of Candida auris. Appears as purple bubbles on a dark blue background.
    Health & Medicine

    U.S. cases of a deadly fungus nearly doubled in recent years

    Though numbers are still small, clinical cases of Candida auris in the jumped 95 percent from 2020 to 2021, a CDC survey finds.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  4. An image of a pregnant woman's torso sitting on a couch.
    Health & Medicine

    Maternal deaths in the U.S. keep climbing

    New U.S. data show that as maternal deaths rise, a large gap between the maternal mortality rate of Black women compared with white women persists.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  5. A photo of a small brown mouse running across a gray floor.
    Neuroscience

    In mice, anxiety isn’t all in the head. It can start in the heart

    Scientists used optogenetics to raise the heartbeat of a mouse, making it anxious. The finding could offer a new angle for studying anxiety disorders.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  6. A photo of a woman getting a mammogram while a doctor helps position her with the machine.
    Health & Medicine

    My mammogram revealed I have dense breasts. What does that mean?

    Nearly half of U.S. women have dense breasts. A new FDA rule makes notification of breast density national. Here’s the scoop on why.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  7. An asian woman curled up in pain on a couch, clutching her stomach.
    Health & Medicine

    An antibody injection could one day help people with endometriosis

    An injectable antibody treatment that reduced signs of endometriosis in monkeys is now being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in people.

    By Meghan Rosen
  8. A photo of a dead pelican laying on a beach in Lima, Peru while a flock of other birds fly in the background.
    Health & Medicine

    Bird flu can jump to mammals. Should we worry?

    Reports of bears and sea lions infected with H5N1 have sparked fears about the pandemic potential of bird flu. Experts are keeping a close eye on its spread.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  9. An illustration of a body created with light blue lines to simulate electricity.
    Life

    ‘We Are Electric’ delivers the shocking story of bioelectricity

    Sally Adee’s new book spotlights the underexplored science of the body’s electricity and investigates how bioelectricity could advance medicine.

    By Meghan Rosen
  10. A photo of several lemons, some cut in half, and a small pitcher of lemon juice sitting on a wood counter top with a juicer in the background.
    Health & Medicine

    Here’s how lemon juice may fend off kidney stones

    Lemon nanoparticles slowed formation of kidney stones in rats. If the sacs work the same way in people, they could help prevent the painful crystals.

    By Meghan Rosen
  11. A photo of a boy with an eye drop bottle being held above his eye by his mom in the background.
    Health & Medicine

    Medicated eye drops may delay nearsightedness in children

    Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a growing global health threat. But a Hong Kong study found that medicated eye drops may delay its onset in children.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  12. An illustration of a shattered clock face with cogs, gears, bits of glass, and other parts scattered around.
    Health & Medicine

    Trauma distorts our sense of time and self. A new therapy might help

    The therapy has helped veterans struggling with mental illness imagine their future selves.

    By Sujata Gupta