Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Toxic dangers lurk in LA, even in homes that didn’t burn

    Urban wildfires like LA’s make harmful chemicals from burning plastics and electronics that can make indoor air dangerous for months.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  2. Health & Medicine

    Plastic shards permeate human brains

    A study of microplastics and nanoplastics in brains shows an astonishing increase over time.

    By Laura Sanders
  3. Health & Medicine

    Welcome to The Deep End, a new podcast about brain implants and depression

    This new six-part podcast follows the lives of people with severe depression who volunteered for deep brain stimulation.

    By Laura Sanders
  4. Health & Medicine

    A new kind of non-opioid painkiller gets FDA approval

    The new drug, called Journavx, is a non-opioid for treating short-term moderate to severe pain.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  5. Neuroscience

    Scratching an itch is so good, and so bad

    The motion kicks off inflammation but may also combat harmful bacteria 

    By Laura Sanders
  6. Health & Medicine

    Better male birth control is on the horizon

    Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?

    By Fred Schwaller
  7. Health & Medicine

    Can you actually die of a broken heart?

    Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  8. Animals

    Fever’s link with a key kind of immunity is surprisingly ancient

    When sick, Nile tilapia seek warmer water. That behavioral fever triggers a specialized immune response, hinting the connection evolved long ago.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  9. Health & Medicine

    Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from WHO. Here’s what that means 

    When Trump’s move to leave WHO takes effect in a year, it may gut funding for global public health and limit U.S. access to crucial data, experts warn.

    By Meghan Rosen
  10. Health & Medicine

    Cigarettes with less nicotine may help some smokers quit

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule to drastically reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  11. Health & Medicine

    What bird flu experts are watching for in 2025

    Since early 2024, the U.S. has logged 66 human cases of H5N1. Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on the virus’s spread as we enter a new year.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  12. Health & Medicine

    Lethal snake venom may be countered by new AI-designed proteins 

    The current way to produce antivenoms is antiquated. Experiments in mice suggest that an artificial intelligence approach could save time and money.

    By Meghan Rosen