Humans
- Chemistry
Explainer: Store receipts and BPA
The chemical BPA may become trapped in the skin, causing it to linger in the body for a week or more after touching receipt paper.
- Health & Medicine
For teens, a good mood depends on good sleep
Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep at night to feel good and function well the next day, a new data show.
- Health & Medicine
Student invents 3-in-1 hygiene powder
A teen who volunteers at a homeless center has developed a powdery product that can serve as dry shampoo, body powder and toothpaste.
- Environment
Vaping may stiffen the heart and blood vessels
Exposure to e-cigarette vapors damages blood vessels in mice, suggesting that vaping could put people at risk for heart disease.
- Health & Medicine
Analyze This: Does moderate screen time boost teen happiness?
Computers, smartphones and TVs are everywhere. And scientists are trying to discover whether that’s a good thing for our well-being.
- Brain
A cell hookup helps the tongue tell sweet from sour
To keep your sense of taste, new taste cells need to hook up to your brain every few weeks. Now, scientists have figured out how they do it.
- Genetics
Explainer: Why scientists sometimes ‘knock out’ genes
How do we learn what a particular molecule does in the body? To find out, scientists often 'knock out' the gene that makes it. Here’s how.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Rabies
Rabies is a disease caused by the rabies virus. There is a vaccine, but without it, people and animals can die from this disease.
- Health & Medicine
Bones have stealth role in muscle, appetite and health
Surprise! Bones release hormones that carry on long-distance chats with the brain and other organs. Studies in mice show these conversations can affect appetite, how the brain uses energy and more.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is a hormone?
Various tissues secrete special chemicals, known as hormones. They travel, usually in blood, to a particular distant site where they tell certain cells it’s time to go to work.
- Brain
Evening screen time can sabotage sleep
Blue light from electronic devices can impair the body’s ability to sleep, making it hard to focus in the morning.
- Environment
Analyze This: Not all races saw equal improvements in this air pollutant
Levels of one U.S. air pollutant, NO2, have dropped over time. But neighborhoods with predominantly non-white residents saw smaller improvements than did those that were mostly white.
