Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Missing COVID-19 data leave us in the dark about the current surge

    Yankee Candle reviews and wastewater testing offer indirect hints, but we’re “flying blind,” says data expert Beth Blauer of Johns Hopkins University.

    By Laura Sanders
  2. Health & Medicine

    4 answers to key questions about the monkeypox outbreak

    Monkeypox has cropped up around the world, but it doesn’t spread easily like the coronavirus and most people probably don’t need to be concerned.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  3. Health & Medicine

    Unexplained hepatitis cases in kids offer more questions than answers

    There is a lot that is unclear about the hepatitis that’s impacting several hundred children worldwide, but parents shouldn’t panic.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  4. Science & Society

    Pressure to conform to social norms may explain risky COVID-19 decisions

    As a science reporter covering COVID-19, I knew I should mask up at Disney World. Instead, I conformed, bared my face and got COVID-19.

    By Sujata Gupta
  5. Health & Medicine

    Here’s the latest good and bad news about COVID-19 drugs

    After coronavirus vaccines, antivirals and a monoclonal antibody are the next line of defense, but the treatments may be hard for some people to find.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Health & Medicine

    How to wash chicken in the kitchen more safely, according to physics

    Despite the advice of health experts, most people who cook chicken at home wash it. New research offers ways to reduce spreading dangerous germs.

    By James R. Riordon
  7. Neuroscience

    A very specific kind of brain cell dies off in people with Parkinson’s

    Of out 10 kinds of dopamine-making nerve cells, only one type is extra vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease.

    By Laura Sanders
  8. Animals

    Some hamsters are extremely susceptible to COVID-19

    Golden Syrian hamsters used in research and popular as pets can become infected with SARS-CoV-2 with very low doses of the virus, a new study suggests.

    By Helen Thompson
  9. Health & Medicine

    The body’s response to allergic asthma also helps protect against COVID-19

    A protein called IL-13 mounts defenses that include virus-trapping mucus and armor that shields airway cells from infection.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  10. Health & Medicine

    How I decided on a second COVID-19 booster shot

    Boosters help for a short time, and mixing vaccines doesn’t seem to push the immune system toward making unhelpful antibodies, studies show.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  11. Health & Medicine

    Joggers naturally pace themselves to conserve energy even on short runs

    Data from fitness trackers and treadmill tests challenge ideas about what drives speed.

    By Chris Gorski
  12. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists were seeking the cause of psoriasis

    In the 1970s, scientists found a link between a chemical messenger and psoriasis, a complex inflammatory skin disorder.

    By Aimee Cunningham