Health & Medicine

  1. Climate

    A heat dome is baking the United States. Here’s why that’s so dangerous

    As climate change makes heat waves more frequent and intense, older adults, pregnant people and others are at higher risk for heat-related symptoms.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  2. Neuroscience

    Pain may take different pathways in men and women

    Sex differences in the function of nerve cells in mice, monkeys and humans suggest a new way to treat pain conditions.

    By Claire Yuan
  3. Health & Medicine

    AI could take medical imaging to the next level 

    Artificial intelligence in medical imaging is taking off. Experts share what they see as the promise — and potential pitfalls — of AI technology.

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. Health & Medicine

    A malaria drug could be used to treat PCOS, a common hormone disorder

    Artemisinin is known to be effective against malaria, lupus, cancer and now possibly polycystic ovarian syndrome.

    By Darren Incorvaia
  5. Health & Medicine

    Long COVID finally gets a universal definition

    If broadly adopted, this inclusive description of long COVID will help legitimize the ongoing struggles millions of people are facing post-infection.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  6. Health & Medicine

    Gen X has higher cancer rates than their baby boomer parents

    An unexplained uptick in cancer diagnoses among Gen Xers might be bad news for millennials and Gen Z.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  7. Health & Medicine

    Can humans get chronic wasting disease from deer?

    Tests on brain organoids suggest the disease-causing prions face a tough barrier to infect people, but ruling out transmission is a difficult task.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  8. Health & Medicine

    Wildfire smoke may cause tens of thousands of premature deaths

    A modeling study of California wildfires from 2008 through 2018 estimates that smoke exposure was responsible for as many as 55,700 premature deaths.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  9. Health & Medicine

    Bird flu can infect cats. What does that mean for their people?

    Pet owners can take precautions to avoid H5N1, such as keeping cats indoors and making sure they don’t eat raw meat or milk.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  10. Health & Medicine

    Privacy remains an issue with several women’s health apps

    Inconsistent privacy policies and dodgy data collection in popular fertility and pregnancy tracking apps put women’s health information at risk.

    By Payal Dhar
  11. Health & Medicine

    Malnutrition’s effects on the body don’t end when food arrives

    Children may struggle with inflammation, a weakened immune system and gut problems. New treatments may repair some damage.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  12. Neuroscience

    Biological puzzles abound in an up-close look at a human brain

    Mirror-image nerve cells, tight bonds between neuron pairs and surprising axon swirls abound in a bit of gray matter smaller than a grain of rice.

    By Laura Sanders