Human Quirks: Health & Medicine

March 2, 2025

Top Headlines

The International Space Station Is Overly Sterile; Making It 'Dirtier' Could Improve Astronaut Health

Feb. 27, 2025 — Astronauts often experience immune dysfunction, skin rashes, and other inflammatory conditions while traveling in space. A new study suggests that these issues could be due to the excessively sterile ...

DNA Origami Suggests Route to Reusable, Multifunctional Biosensors

Feb. 24, 2025 — A team has used a process known as DNA origami to make electrochemical sensors that can quickly detect and measure ...

Viking Skulls Reveal Severe Morbidity

Feb. 21, 2025 — Sweden's Viking Age population appears to have suffered from severe oral and maxillofacial disease, sinus and ear infections, osteoarthritis, and much more. This is shown in a study in which Viking skulls were examined using modern X-ray ...

Scientists Decode Diet from Stool DNA -- No Questions Asked

Feb. 18, 2025 — Scientists have developed a breakthrough method to track diet using stool metagenomic data. This non-invasive, data-driven approach offers an objective alternative to traditional food diaries and questionnaires, which are still the gold standard in ...

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Sweet Taste Receptors in the Heart: A New Pathway for Cardiac Regulation

Feb. 17, 2025 — In a surprising discovery, scientists have found that the heart possesses 'sweet taste' receptors, similar to those on our tongues, and that stimulating these receptors with sweet substances can ...

This Research Is Absolutely Nuts -- For Better Health Care

Feb. 17, 2025 — A nut used in herbal tea has become a hydrogel perfect for a variety of biomedical uses in new research. Scientists created a malva nut hydrogel for medical uses ranging from wound care to ECG ...

Scientists Develop Novel Self-Healing Electronic Skin for Health Monitoring

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in wearable health technology by developing a novel self-healing electronic skin (E-Skin) that repairs itself in seconds after damage. This could potentially ...

Biohybrid Hand Gestures With Human Muscles

Feb. 12, 2025 — A biohybrid hand which can move objects and do a scissor gesture has been created. The researchers used thin strings of lab-grown muscle tissue bundled into sushilike rolls to give the fingers enough ...

International Shark Attack File Report: Unprovoked Shark Bites Plummeted in 2024

Feb. 11, 2025 — 2024 was an exceptionally calm year for shark bites. Worldwide, there were only 47 unprovoked attacks, down 22 from the previous year and well below ...

Influenza A Viruses Adapt Shape in Response to Environmental Pressures

Feb. 10, 2025 — Influenza A virus particles strategically adapt their shape -- to become either spheres or larger filaments -- to favor their ability to infect cells depending on environmental conditions, according ...

Camel Milk Udderly Good Alterative to Traditional Dairy

Jan. 23, 2025 — In addition to being hypoallergenic, camel milk could potentially protect the gut from harmful enzymes and create healthier ...

Novel 'Living' Biomaterial Aims to Advance Regenerative Medicine

Feb. 6, 2025 — A biomaterial that can mimic certain behaviors within biological tissues could advance regenerative medicine, disease modeling, soft robotics and more, according to ...

New Light-Tuned Chemical Tools Control Processes in Living Cells

Jan. 30, 2025 — A research group has developed new advanced light-controlled tools that enable precise control of proteins in real time in living cells. This groundbreaking research opens doors to new methods for ...

This Delicate Nanoflower Is Downright Deadly to Bacteria

Jan. 31, 2025 — A carnation-like nanostructure could someday be used in bandages to promote wound healing. Researchers report that laboratory tests of their nanoflower-coated dressings demonstrate antibiotic, ...

The Big Chill: Is Cold-Water Immersion Good for Our Health?

Jan. 31, 2025 — In a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers have taken a deep dive into the effects of cold-water immersion on health and wellbeing. Analyzing data from 11 studies with 3177 ...

3D-Printed Brain-Like Environment Promotes Neuron Growth

Jan. 30, 2025 — Key cells in the brain, neurons, form networks by exchanging signals, enabling the brain to learn and adapt at incredible speed. Researchers have now developed a 3D-printed 'brain-like ...

Freshwater Alga Could Be the Next Superfood That Feeds the World

Jan. 30, 2025 — A green alga that grows in lakes and rivers could be the next 'superfood' -- helping scientists to tackle global food security challenges while promoting environmental ...

A Hearing Aid for ... Your Nose?

Jan. 30, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a feedback loop in the brain's odor center that seems to put smells and sounds into context. The feedback loop may help animals adjust their behaviors in response to ...

Scientists Shocked by Durability of Surgery-Sparing Technique

Jan. 30, 2025 — A nanotechnology-based drug delivery system developed to save patients from repeated surgeries has proved to have unexpectedly long-lasting benefits in lab tests -- a promising sign for its potential ...

Scientists 'Mimic Real Biological Processes' Using Synthetic Neurons

Jan. 29, 2025 — A new collaboration has unlocked new potential for the field by creating a novel high-performance organic electrochemical neuron that responds within the frequency range of human ...

New Insights Into the Perception of Coffee Taste -- Genetic Predisposition Plays a Role

Jan. 29, 2025 — Why does coffee taste more bitter to some people than it does to others? Researchers have now come closer to answering this question. They have identified a new group of bitter compounds in roasted ...

Individual Cells Can Be Connected to Plastic Electrodes

Jan. 28, 2025 — Researchers have succeeded in creating a close connection between individual cells and organic electronics. The study lays the foundation for future treatment of neurological and other diseases with ...

First Mouse With Two Male Parents to Reach Adulthood

Jan. 28, 2025 — A team of stem cell scientists have successfully used embryonic stem cell engineering to create a bi-paternal mouse -- a mouse with two male parents -- that lived until adulthood. Their results ...

Imagining the Physics of George R.R. Martin's Fictional Universe

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers have derived a formula for viral behavior in the Wild Cards, a science fiction series written by a collection of authors about an alien virus called the Wild Card that mutates human DNA. ...

Fighting Experience Plays Key Role in Brain Chemical's Control of Male Aggression

Jan. 22, 2025 — Like humans, mice will compete over territory and mates, and show increased confidence in their fighting skills the more they win. At first, a brain chemical called dopamine is essential for young ...

'Unprecedented' Level of Control Allows Person Without Use of Limbs to Operate Virtual Quadcopter

Jan. 21, 2025 — A brain-computer interface, surgically placed in a research participant with tetraplegia, paralysis in all four limbs, provided an unprecedented level of control over a virtual quadcopter -- just by ...

Fine-Tuned Brain-Computer Interface Makes Prosthetic Limbs Feel More Real

Jan. 16, 2025 — Two new articles document progress in neuroprosthetic technology that lets people feel the shape and movement of objects moving over the 'skin' of a bionic ...

DNA Nanorobots Can Alter Artificial Cells

Jan. 13, 2025 — Scientists have succeeded in controlling the structure and function of biological membranes with the help of 'DNA origami'. The system they developed may facilitate the transportation of ...

Using Robots in Nursing Homes Linked to Higher Employee Retention, Better Patient Care

Jan. 8, 2025 — Facing high employee turnover and an aging population, nursing homes have increasingly turned to robots to complete a variety of care tasks, but few researchers have explored how these technologies ...

Advancements in Neural Implant Research Enhance Durability

Jan. 7, 2025 — Neural implants contain integrated circuits (ICs) -- commonly called chips -- built on silicon. These implants need to be small and flexible to mimic circumstances inside the human body. However, the ...

Breakthrough for 'Smart Cell' Design

Jan. 3, 2025 — Bioengineers have developed a new construction kit for building custom sense-and-respond circuits in human cells. The research could revolutionize therapies for complex conditions like autoimmune ...

Ancient DNA Unlocks New Understanding of Migrations in the First Millennium AD

Jan. 1, 2025 — Waves of human migration across Europe during the first millennium AD have been revealed using a more precise method of analysing ancestry with ancient DNA, in research led by the Francis Crick ...

Virus That Threatened Humanity Opens the Future

Dec. 27, 2024 — Scientists have developed an innovative therapeutic platform by mimicking the intricate structures of viruses using artificial intelligence ...

Generate Electricity by Attaching Device to Your Clothes

Dec. 20, 2024 — A research team has developed a highly efficient wearable energy harvester that can power electronic devices using only body ...