Health, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2018

Blood Cells Can Transform into Brain Cells, New Study Shows

Unless you're a werewolf or a superhero, you can't easily transform into something you're not — but your cells can. Scientists recently found a way to convert an immune-system cell into a neuron — two cells with totally different shapes and very different functions. The hope is that the technique...

May 31, 2018

5 Weird Ways Hot Tubs Can Make You Sick

A relaxing dip in a hot tub may sound like the ideal way to spend a cool summer night. But in rare cases, danger may lurk beneath those soothing jets: Hot tub use has been linked with several types of infections and injuries. Here are five ways you can get...

Apr 30, 2018

Why This Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies

A man in Australia helped save the lives of more than 2 million babies by donating his special blood, which was used to make a medication that can prevent life-threatening problems in newborns. But why exactly is this man's blood special, and how does the medication work to save babies?...

Apr 30, 2018

Is the Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak Finally Over?

Romaine lettuce tied to a recent outbreak of E. coli is likely no longer on store shelves or in restaurants, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today (May 16). That means that the agency is no longer advising consumers to avoid buying romaine lettuce in connection with the...

Mar 31, 2018

Brain-Uploading Company Has No Immediate Plans to Upload Brains

Nectome wants to back up your consciousness when you die. But now, after MIT cut ties with the company, its founders have emphasized to Live Science that they don't plan to actually attempt the feat anytime soon. The startup came under criticism from a number of prominent neuroscientists, including two...

Mar 31, 2018

How a Stranded Nurse Saved His Own Life During a Heart Attack

What do you do if you're in the middle of nowhere and you have a heart attack? If you're a nurse alone in Western Australia, apparently the answer is, save your own life, damn it. A case report published March 8 in The New England Journal of Medicine tells the...

Mar 31, 2018

A Man Ate the 'World's Hottest' Pepper. Then the 'Thunderclap' Headaches Started

Biting into the hottest pepper in the world sounds painful enough. But for one man, the daring feat resulted in excruciating headaches, known as thunderclap headaches, according to a new report of his case. The 34-year-old man ate the pepper, a Carolina Reaper, as a part of a hot-pepper-eating contest....

Mar 31, 2018

CDC Says to Avoid All Romaine Lettuce Amid E. Coli Outbreak

An E. coli warning tied to romaine lettuce is being expanded to include all types of romaine from a region in southwestern Arizona, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today (April 20). The announcement means that consumers should avoid eating not just chopped romaine from this region...

Mar 31, 2018

Famed Doctor Hans Asperger Helped with Nazi Child Euthanasia, Notes Reveal

Hans Asperger, a pioneer in autism research whose name is used to describe high-functioning people with the disorder, had a previously unknown dark past that included sending children with disabilities to a euthanasia program run by the Nazi regime, according to new investigations into his long-lost files. The new findings...

Mar 31, 2018

Game-Changing Study Finds Dozens of Genes Tied to Depression

Scientists have uncovered dozens of genes that increase the risk of depression — a major finding that underscores the complexity of the disease and reveals why antidepressant therapies work well for some people but are utterly ineffective for others. A global consortium of more than 200 scientists identified 44 gene...

Mar 31, 2018

Mysterious Eye Cancer Cases Pop Up in 2 States, and Doctors Can't Explain It

Dozens of people in Alabama and North Carolina have developed a rare eye cancer — and doctors don't know what's behind the apparent spike in cases in these areas, according to news reports. So far, 18 people with this eye cancer, known as ocular melanoma, have been identified in Huntersville,...

Feb 28, 2018

A Mysterious Lung Disease Is Striking Virginia Dentists

A mysterious lung disease is striking dentists in Virginia, according to a new report. So far, health officials have identified nine dentists or dental workers who were diagnosed with the disease, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, all of whom were treated at the same specialty clinic in Virginia, according to the...

Feb 28, 2018

Scott Kelly's Year in Space Changed His Gene Expression

(Editor's Note: This story was updated on March 15 at 1:15 pm E.T. Here is an updated article about Live Science's errors in reporting this study.) Scott and Mark Kelly are identical twin brothers — at least, they were until Scott spent a year living in space. When Scott Kelly...

Feb 28, 2018

5 Weird Effects of Bug Bites

Introduction (Image credit: Shutterstock)Most bug bites are just itchy and annoying and, for the most part, stick around for only a few days. But in rare cases, bug bites can have some strange effects, from heart attacks to paralysis. Here are five really weird effects of bug bites: Heart attacks...

Feb 28, 2018

New Stem Cell Treatment Reverses Vision Loss in 2 Patients

Two people who were going blind can now see the world in much greater detail than before thanks to an experimental stem cell treatment for age-related macular degeneration, according to a new study. One patient in the study, Douglas Waters, had severe macular degeneration and couldn't see out of his...