Ed Cara
Living without a sense of smell brings feelings of isolation and peril, study says
A recent study is one of the first to highlight the plights faced by a small segment of the population: ...
Cancer and heart disease contagious? It’s possible, through the microbiome, researchers argue
It’s a science lesson you probably learned in grade school: You can only catch certain illnesses, like the flu, from ...
Genetic mutation blamed for mysterious heart condition killing young members of Amish community
[D]octors at the Mayo Clinic say they’ve uncovered the cause of a mysterious heart condition that had suddenly killed over ...
Another benefit of regular exercise— ‘agile, fast-moving sperm’
Regular physical activity can keep a man’s sperm in tip-top shape, a new study suggests. The research was published [December 20] in ...
Mind games: Do placebos have a place in modern medicine?
Doctors in Australia commonly give their patients a placebo treatment intended mainly to ease their minds, according to a new ...
Does ‘brain plasticity’ explain why these people can still smell, despite not having olfactory bulbs?
Doctors there say they’ve found people who can smell just as well as anyone else, despite missing the key area ...
‘Holy grail of medicine’: Experimental drug promises to stop flu in its tracks—if it works in humans
We might be inching closer to a holy grail of medicine: an incredibly effective flu-killing drug that the virus can’t ...
Two copies of a gene from only a single parent—This ‘genetic quirk’ may not be as rare as we thought
A supposedly rare genetic quirk might be more common than we think, according to new research out [October 10]. The ...
Evolution in motion: Before birth, human fetuses develop—and then lose—lizard-like body parts
The evolutionary journey of any species is littered with detours and dead-ends. Humans, for instance, have vestigial body parts that ...
Something new to worry about: Mosquito-borne brain-infecting EEE virus may be fueled by warming climate
Health officials in several states [have] reported more cases and deaths linked to the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus. The ...
Promising immunotherapy drug to treat peanut allergies may be approved although 10% of study subjects had serious side effects
On [September 13], a panel of experts assembled by the Food and Drug Administration voted that the agency should approve a drug ...
‘Especially deadly’ mosquito-spread virus kills 3 Americans so far this year
Rhode Island health officials reported that a resident had died after contracting the Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus. The death marks the ...
Thanks to IVF, 73-year-old Indian woman just became the ‘oldest new mother ever documented’
An Indian woman named Erramatti Mangayamma has seemingly made history by becoming the oldest new mother ever documented. Her doctors ...
How the brains of different dog breeds have evolved to meet our needs
As humans have gone, so have their canine companions. But a new study shows the subtle ways our long-lasting partnership ...
Breakthrough could help us understand why some tick bites cause bizarre red meat allergies
Scientists at the University of Virginia have seemingly come closer to unraveling the mystery behind a strange red meat allergy ...
Have scientists discovered a new pain-processing organ under our skin?
It’s not common that researchers discover what could be an entirely new part of the human body. But a team ...
‘Rare and unsettling’: Young woman had undeveloped ‘twin’ in her abdomen for 17 years
A young woman in India unknowingly lived with one of the rarest and most unsettling medical conditions for nearly two ...
Deep dive into US stem cell clinics gives reason to worry about ‘unsafe or useless treatments’
Medical clinics that provide largely unregulated stem cell treatments are popping up all over the U.S. But a new study ...
Sleep easy: Late-night surfing on your smartphone unlikely to damage your internal clock
People who only occasionally fall down an internet rabbit hole on their smartphones late at night might be able to ...
Amputees could ‘feel’ again with innovative prosthetic arm
For people who have lost a hand or arm, prosthetics may restore some functioning, but not the sense of touch ...
‘Do not waste your money’: Most heart-healthy supplements won’t cut your disease risk, study shows
There are lots of things you can do to keep your heart healthy and hopefully live longer. But a new ...
Herbal remedy kratom linked to seizures, addiction and deaths
The herbal remedy kratom, often touted as an alternative treatment for opioid withdrawal or chronic pain, is in for more ...
FDA warns kratom sellers to stop making unproven claims about chronic pain, opioid addiction benefits
The Food and Drug Administration is still pressing down hard on kratom—the plant treatment that adherents say has helped them ...
Recently discovered Salmonella strain could render some infections ‘simply untreatable’
Scientists at North Carolina State University say they’ve discovered disease-causing Salmonella bacteria in the U.S. that can resist one of ...
Tired of being a night owl? You may be able to trick your body into changing its ways
If you envy people who wake up with the Sun, but you can’t seem to get to bed until well ...
Marijuana compound CBD could help people fight opioid addiction
A new study out [May 21] is the latest to suggest that cannabis—or at least a key ingredient of it—might ...
Should you freeze your sperm? The biological clock is ticking for men, too
Women face the brunt of societal pressure to have children before a certain age, but a new study concludes that ...
Chasing the ‘perplexing’ link between appendectomies and Parkinson’s disease
New research has found a perplexing, though relatively small link between the devastating neurological illness Parkinson’s disease and having your ...