Humans

  1. Health & Medicine

    Welcome to The Deep End, a new podcast about brain implants and depression

    This new six-part podcast follows the lives of people with severe depression who volunteered for deep brain stimulation.

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  2. Anthropology

    An African strontium map sheds light on the origins of enslaved people

    While genetic tests can reveal the ancestry of enslaved individuals, strontium analysis can now home in on where they actually grew up.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    A new kind of non-opioid painkiller gets FDA approval

    The new drug, called Journavx, is a non-opioid for treating short-term moderate to severe pain.

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  4. Neuroscience

    Scratching an itch is so good, and so bad

    The motion kicks off inflammation but may also combat harmful bacteria 

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Better male birth control is on the horizon

    Men have two birth control options: condoms and vasectomies. Why has it taken so long to develop more contraceptives?

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  6. Archaeology

    Here’s how ancient Amazonians became master maize farmers

    Casarabe people grew the nutritious crop year-round on savannas thanks to networks of drainage canals and ponds.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Can you actually die of a broken heart?

    Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.

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  8. Animals

    Fever’s link with a key kind of immunity is surprisingly ancient

    When sick, Nile tilapia seek warmer water. That behavioral fever triggers a specialized immune response, hinting the connection evolved long ago.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from WHO. Here’s what that means 

    When Trump’s move to leave WHO takes effect in a year, it may gut funding for global public health and limit U.S. access to crucial data, experts warn.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Cigarettes with less nicotine may help some smokers quit

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule to drastically reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products.

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  11. Psychology

    Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges

    Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    What bird flu experts are watching for in 2025

    Since early 2024, the U.S. has logged 66 human cases of H5N1. Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on the virus’s spread as we enter a new year.

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