Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: Why it’s easier to get sick in the winter
Low humidity helps viruses survive, and cold weather blunts some of the body’s immune responses — making colds and other viral infections more likely.
- Environment
Protecting forests may help head off future pandemics
Hungry bats are more likely to shed harmful viruses to people or livestock when they spread out to hunt food. Conserving forests may limit this risk.
- Brain
The pandemic prematurely aged teens’ brains
A small study showed certain structural changes that appeared three to four years early. Normally, premature aging of the brain is not a good sign.
- Brain
Some screen time may aid kids’ recovery from concussions
A few hours a day on digital devices may actually aid recovery by connecting kids with friends and giving their brains some stimulation.
- Environment
Gas stoves can spew lots of pollution, even when they’re turned off
A new study finds they can leak benzene and other harmful chemicals into homes, sometimes at very high levels.
- Microbes
Mouth-crawling superbugs cause severe cavities in kids
In kids with severe tooth decay, fungi and bacteria team up to create superorganisms that can crawl across teeth.
- Science & Society
Let’s learn about why schools should start later
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
- Health & Medicine
Toddler now thrives after prenatal treatment for a genetic disease
Ayla was treated before birth for the rare, life-threatening Pompe disease. Now a thriving 16-month-old toddler, her treatments will still need to continue.
- Health & Medicine
An asthma treatment may also help tame cat allergies
Adding a therapy used to treat asthma improved cat allergy symptoms for more than a year, a small study found.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Infection
Infections range from mild illnesses, such as the common cold, to deadly diseases, such as rabies.
- Earth
Analyze This: Wildfires are pumping more pollution into U.S. skies
Researchers wanted to study the health effects of wildfire smoke. But they realized they didn’t know where it was and how much exposure people had.
- Chemistry
Explainer: What is a hydrogel?
These unusual materials have a host of unusual properties. You can even make a starch-infused version in your kitchen.
