Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2018

Are People Actually Smoking Bug-Spray-Laced Drugs? Either Way, It's a Bad Idea.

Street drugs in Indianapolis may be laced with an unusual ingredient: household bug spray, according to news reports. The IndyStar reports that marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids, tobacco and even banana leaves could be intentionally drenched in bug spray. People who take the bug-spray-laced drugs can slide into an unresponsive stupor that...

Feb 28, 2018

Viagra for … Cancer Prevention? Mouse Study Has Surprising Results

The little blue pill could one day have a surprising use: as a cancer prevention drug. Early research in mice suggests that small doses of sildenafil, the ingredient in Viagra responsible for the pill's effects, may prevent colorectal cancer. When the researchers gave the drug to mice that were prone...

Jan 31, 2018

Arizona Woman Wakes Up with British Accent

An Arizona woman woke up speaking with a British accent, even though she's lived in the U.S. all her life, according to news reports. The woman, Michelle Myers, said that in 2015, she went to bed with a blinding headache and woke up sounding British, according to ABC affiliate KNXV....

Jan 31, 2018

The Brutal Neuroscience of Figure Skating: How Spinning Athletes Overcome Dizziness

As I write this, I'm sitting in a desk chair — the kind that turns. If I kick my legs hard against the floor, again and again, it will spin fast — not figure-skater fast, but fast enough that when I stop and try to stand, the whole world careens...

Jan 31, 2018

This Parasite Is a Surprising Cause of Seizures in the US

The idea of tapeworm larvae traveling to your brain and forming life-threatening cysts sounds horrifying. But for many people around the world — including a surprising number in the United States — this condition is a reality. Now, U.S. doctors are releasing new guidelines on how to identify and treat...

Jan 31, 2018

How Much Salt Do You Need to Survive?

Salt: It's 40 percent sodium, 60 percent chlorine and 100 percent delicious. The constantly-debated question: How much salt do you actually need to be healthy? On one hand, your body needs the nutrients in salt to survive — particularly sodium. Sodium is the most important extracellular electrolyte, Dr. Paul Whelton,...

Jan 31, 2018

Why Do Firearm Injuries Drop During NRA Conventions?

People are injured by firearms every day, but fewer gun-related injuries per capita happen during a certain yearly event: the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meetings and Exhibits, according to a new study that looked at eight years' worth of data. A team of scientists spearheaded the research, published today...

Dec 31, 2017

Mitt Romney's Prostate Cancer: What's a Good Prognosis?

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was treated for prostate cancer last summer, according to news reports. Romney, who is 70, had surgery over the summer, according to a statement provided to ABC News. His treatment was successful, and his prognosis is good, the statement said. What does it mean...

Dec 31, 2017

Here's a Perfect Example of Why You Shouldn't Stifle Your Sneeze

Before you try to stifle your sniffle to avoid a loud, snotty sneeze, heed some advice from a 34-year-old man in England who ruptured his throat while trying that trick: Don't do it. The man ended up hospitalized and barely able to speak or swallow after he tried to stop...

Dec 31, 2017

How Getting the Flu May Put You at Risk of a Heart Attack

The flu can be a serious illness itself, but it may also increase the risk of having a heart attack, a new study from Canada finds. The study found that patients' risk of a heart attack was six times higher during the first week following a flu diagnosis, compared with...

Dec 31, 2017

Does Coffee Contain a Carcinogen? Here's What the Science Says

Update (March 30, 2018): A California judge ruled on March 29 that coffee shops in the state must include a cancer warning label each cup of joe. Here's more about the ruling and the possible coffee-cancer link. If a lawsuit in California is successful, Golden State stores that sell coffee...

Nov 30, 2019

'Crazymothers' Want You to Stop Calling Them 'Anti-Vaxxers'

A group of people opposed to vaccinations has requested that media stop referring to them as anti-vax. Instead, they would prefer to be called vaccine risk aware. On Dec. 1, an anti-vaccine group called the Crazymothers raised its plea on Twitter and Instagram, asserting that the term anti-vaxxer is derogatory,...

Nov 30, 2019

Puppy Licks to a Woman's Feet May Have Caused Serious Skin Infection

Dogs can bring a person happiness, love, laughter ... and sometimes strange infections. Case in point: A woman in Israel was diagnosed with a bacterial infection that she likely contracted from innocent puppy licks, according to a new report. Last year, the 86-year-old woman went to the hospital with a...

Nov 30, 2019

What Was the Black Death?

The Black Death of the 14th century is well known. When historians discuss the plague they are usually referring to this epidemic of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. In his book, The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History (Boydell Press, 2018), Ole Jørgen Benedictow estimates that 50-60%...

Nov 30, 2019

The Fascinating History of Crisco, the Famous Tub of 'Lard'

Perhaps you'll unearth a can of Crisco for the holiday baking season. If so, you'll be one of millions of Americans who have, for generations, used it to make cookies, cakes, pie crusts and more. But for all Crisco's popularity, what exactly is that thick, white substance in the can?...