Human Quirks: Health & Medicine

September 5, 2016

Virus 'Gave' Females Placenta; Males, Muscle Mass

Keeping Cool Without Losing Your Shirt

First Ciliary Stroke Motion Microrobots

Ultrasound Jump-Starts Man's Brain After Coma

Latest Headlines

updated 6:31am EDT

Ethical Concerns Tied to Research on Human-Animal Embryos

Aug. 30, 2016 — Scientists have developed a new bioethical framework for addressing concerns surrounding potentially revolutionary research on human-animal ... read more

Cannabinoid Receptor Activates Spermatozoa

Aug. 30, 2016 — Biologists have detected a cannabinoid receptor in spermatozoa. Endogenous cannabinoids that occur in both the male and the female genital tract activate the spermatozoa: they trigger the so-called ... read more

Special Nerve Cells Cause Goose Bumps and Nipple Erection

Aug. 29, 2016 — The sympathetic nerve system has long been thought to respond the same regardless of the physical or emotional stimulus triggering it. However, in a new study, scientists show that the system ... read more

Brief Rapamycin Therapy in Middle-Aged Mice Extends Lives

Aug. 23, 2016 — In mice, the drug rapamycin is known to extend lives and delay some age-related problems. Questions remain about about how it promotes healthy aging, when, how much and how long to administer ... read more

Battery You Can Swallow Could Enable Future Ingestible Medical Devices

Aug. 23, 2016 — Non-toxic, edible batteries could one day power ingestible devices for diagnosing and treating disease. One team reports new progress toward that goal with their batteries ... read more

Edible Food Packaging Made from Milk Proteins

Aug. 21, 2016 — Most foods at the grocery store come wrapped in plastic packaging. Not only does this create a lot of non-recyclable, non-biodegradable waste, but thin plastic films are not ... read more

Legions of Nanorobots Target Cancerous Tumors With Precision

Aug. 15, 2016 — Researchers have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to ... read more

Large Human Brain Evolved as a Result of 'Sizing Each Other Up'

Aug. 12, 2016 — Humans have evolved a disproportionately large brain as a result of sizing each other up in large cooperative social groups, researchers ... read more

Reducing the Harms of Alcohol Through Weaker Beer

Aug. 10, 2016 — Could a small drop in the alcohol content of beer or other drinks reduce the harmful effects of alcohol in society at large? A new review, which explores the evidence, suggests this approach may be ... read more

Believe It or Not: Exercise Does More Good If You Believe It Will

Aug. 11, 2016 — People benefit more from exercise when they believe it will have a positive effect, new research indicates. A psychologist and his team have conducted a study demonstrating that test subjects derive ... read more

Common Houseplants Could Make Nail Salons Safer

The Real Culprit Behind The Common Cold Might Be ... Camels?

Viruses Might Be More Likely To Get You Sick In The Morning

Rats With Nose for Trouble Train to Save Lives in Tanzania

Paraplegics Regain Some Feeling, Movement After Using Brain-Machine Interfaces

Aug. 11, 2016 — Eight people who have spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial sensation and muscle control in their lower limbs after training with brain-controlled robotics, according ... read more

Recording Selfies While Brushing Teeth Can Improve Oral Health Care Skills

Aug. 10, 2016 — Recording smart phone video 'selfies' of tooth-brushing can help people learn to improve their oral health care techniques, according to a new ... read more

Stem Cells of Worms, Humans More Similar Than Expected

Aug. 9, 2016 — The transient form of genetic information, the RNA, is processed in a similar manner in the cells of both organisms. These mechanisms seem to be at work throughout the whole animal kingdom. ... read more

Navigating the Human Genome With Sequins

Aug. 8, 2016 — Australian genomics researchers have announced the development of Sequins -- synthetic 'mirror' DNA sequences that reflect the human genome. This intuitive new technology, which can be used ... read more

Toe-Tapping to Better Health: Fidgeting Helps Prevent Arterial Dysfunction from Sitting

Aug. 4, 2016 — Previous research has shown that sitting for an extended period of time at a computer or during a long airline flight reduces blood flow to the legs, which may contribute to the development of ... read more

New Microfluidic Chip Replicates Muscle-Nerve Connection

Aug. 3, 2016 — Engineers have developed a microfluidic device that replicates the neuromuscular junction -- the vital connection where nerve meets muscle. The device, about the size of a US quarter, contains a ... read more

Study Uses GPS Technology to Predict Football Injuries

Aug. 2, 2016 — Soccer players' injuries may be predicted by looking at players' workloads during training and competition, according to new research. Researchers discovered that the greatest injury risk ... read more

Flexible Wearable Electronic Skin Patch Offers New Way to Monitor Alcohol Levels

Aug. 2, 2016 — Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a flexible wearable sensor that can accurately measure a person's blood alcohol level from sweat and transmit the data ... read more

Origins of the Female Orgasm Explained

Aug. 1, 2016 — Female orgasm seems to be a happy afterthought of our evolutionary past when it helped stimulate ovulation, a new study of mammals ... read more

Scientists Grow Mini Human Brains

July 30, 2016 — Mini midbrains provide next generation platforms to investigate human brain biology, diseases and therapeutics, report ... read more

Human Nose Holds Novel Antibiotic Effective Against Multiresistant Pathogens

July 29, 2016 — A potential lifesaver lies unrecognized in the human body: Scientists have discovered that Staphylococcus lugdunensis which colonizes in the human nose produces a previously unknown antibiotic. As ... read more

Microswimmer Robot Chains Can Decouple and Reconnect in a Magnetic Field

July 28, 2016 — Researchers have successfully pulled off a feat that both sci-fi fans and Michael Phelps could appreciate. Using a rotating magnetic field they show how multiple chains of microscopic magnetic ... read more

Americans Worried About Using Gene Editing, Brain Chip Implants and Synthetic Blood

July 26, 2016 — Many in the general public think scientific and technological innovations bring helpful change to society, but they are more concerned than excited when it comes to the potential use of emerging ... read more

Height Rankings Revealed: Dutch Men and Latvian Women Tallest in World

July 26, 2016 — Dutch men and Latvian women are the tallest on the planet, according to the largest ever study of height around the ... read more

Historical Love-Affair With Indulgent Foods

July 26, 2016 — Our desire for indulgent meals may be over 500 years old. A new analysis of European and American paintings across five centuries shows that salt, bread, sausage, and shellfish were among the most ... read more

New Remote-Controlled Microrobots for Medical Operations

July 22, 2016 — Scientists have developed a new method for building microrobots that could be used in the body to deliver drugs and perform other medical ... read more

Ancient Feces Provides Earliest Evidence of Infectious Disease Being Carried on Silk Road

July 21, 2016 — Intestinal parasites as well as goods were carried by travelers on the iconic route, say researchers examining an ancient ... read more

Large Protein Nanocages Could Improve Drug Design and Delivery

July 21, 2016 — Using novel computational and biochemical approaches, scientists have designed and built from scratch 10 large protein icosahedra that are similar to viral capsids that carry viral ... read more

To Protect Yourself from Malaria Sleep With a Chicken Next to Your Bed

July 20, 2016 — For the first time, scientists have shown that malaria-transmitting mosquitoes actively avoid feeding on certain animal species such as chickens, using their sense of smell. Odors emitted by species ... read more

A Chair for Getting Fit and Trim

July 20, 2016 — Getting fit and athletic -- while sitting? Researchers are developing an active chair. At first glance, the chair looks just like another other reclining chair with a footrest you would find in a ... read more

Thursday, August 11, 2016