Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Estrogen in birth control could be cut way back, a study suggests

    Delivering an extra low dose of estrogen, or a combination of estrogen and progesterone, at a specific time of the menstrual cycle may prevent ovulation.

    By Natalia Mesa
  2. A close up photo of several leeches on a transparent background.
    Animals

    Freshwater leeches’ taste for snails could help control snail-borne diseases

    A freshwater leech species will eat snails, raising the possibility that leeches could be used to control snail-borne diseases that infect humans and livestock.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  3. An SEM image of breast cancer cells.
    Health & Medicine

    A new battery starves cancer cells of oxygen in mice

    When a self-charging battery is placed on a mouse’s tumor and combined with anticancer drugs, it reduced tumor size by 90 percent.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  4. A photo of several pink and white oval pills sitting on top of a Paxlovid box.
    Health & Medicine

    The antiviral drug Paxlovid reduces the risk of getting long COVID

    In a study of U.S. veterans’ health records, the drug lowered the odds of developing 10 of 13 long-term health problems following a COVID-19 infection.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  5. A MRI image of a brain shows regions of cerebrospinal fluid in blue.
    Neuroscience

    Scientists triggered the flow of spinal fluid in the awake brain

    If future studies confirm these waking waves wash away toxic proteins from the brain, the finding could lead to new treatments for brain disorders.

    By Simon Makin
  6. A sepia tone photo of someone walking their dog on the beach at sunset.
    Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, air pollution was linked to more reports of animal bites

    Scientists spent decades tying air pollution to health and behavior problems. Now, there’s more evidence that dirty air influences aggression in animals.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  7. A photo of a city street with over large bits of microplastics overlaying the image.
    Health & Medicine

    Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks

    Researchers are racing to try to understand how much humans are exposed and what levels are toxic.

    By Anne Pinto-Rodrigues
  8. A photo of a raccoon dog looking over its should at the camera while it stands in a field of tall grass.
    Health & Medicine

    How raccoon dog DNA fits into the COVID-19 origins debate

    Did the virus that causes COVID-19 come from animals or a lab? Evidence hints at animals. Either way, we should be prepping for the next pandemic.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  9. photo of a mouse standing on its hind legs in a glass bowl and peering over the edge
    Health & Medicine

    A hormone shot helped drunk mice sober up quickly

    Drunk mice injected with the hormone FGF21 woke up and regained their balance faster than inebriated mice that did not receive the shot.

    By Freda Kreier
  10. photo of Wilfried Mutombo Kalonji looking at a slide under a microscope as another scientist stands in the background
    Health & Medicine

    Sleeping sickness is nearing elimination. An experimental drug could help

    Clinical trials of acoziborole are under way in sub-Saharan Africa, where sleeping sickness is endemic.

    By Meghan Rosen
  11. An illustration of Candida auris. Appears as purple bubbles on a dark blue background.
    Health & Medicine

    U.S. cases of a deadly fungus nearly doubled in recent years

    Though numbers are still small, clinical cases of Candida auris in the jumped 95 percent from 2020 to 2021, a CDC survey finds.

    By Tina Hesman Saey
  12. An image of a pregnant woman's torso sitting on a couch.
    Health & Medicine

    Maternal deaths in the U.S. keep climbing

    New U.S. data show that as maternal deaths rise, a large gap between the maternal mortality rate of Black women compared with white women persists.

    By Aimee Cunningham