Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2013

Sexercise? Getting Busy Burns Calories, Study Finds

Updated on Monday, Oct. 28, at 11:17 a.m. ET. Does sex count as exercise? Good news: It might. A new study finds that, in young people, sex burns an average of 4.2 calories a minute for men and 3.1 calories a minute for women. That intensity is moderate, the researchers...

Sep 30, 2013

DIY Projects Linked with Lower Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke

For older adults, gardening and do-it-yourself home activities like fixing up the house may cut the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study from Sweden suggests. In the study, adults ages 60 and over who engaged in high levels of home and garden activities were 27 percent less...

Sep 30, 2013

Excessive Added Sugar Clogs Americans' Diets (Infographic)

Sugar contains calories but zero nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals). Sugar is naturally occurring in dairy products (lactose) and fruits (fructose), but many processed foods and beverages contain added sugar in excessive amounts. One sugar cube is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of granular sugar or 4 grams. It contains...

Aug 31, 2013

Infected and Hunched: King Richard III Was Crawling With Roundworms

William Shakespeare depicted King Richard III as a crooked ruler, due to the monarch's supposed ruthless demeanor and his curved spine. A new study suggests that in addition to scoliosis, Richard III suffered from a roundworm infection. Interest and research into the monarch has spiked since scientists found Richard III's...

Aug 31, 2013

Chromosome Miscounts: Findings Offer Potential Therapies

For many women who are pregnant, the early weeks bring joy — and worry. Although most pregnancies lead to fully developed little sweeties, nearly a quarter of them end in miscarriage. In some cases, this is due to the embryos having the wrong number of chromosomes. An extra or missing...

Aug 31, 2013

Spicy Solution? Cinnamon May Help Diabetes Patients

Cinnamon might improve not only the taste of apple pie and oatmeal but also the health of people with diabetes, a new review study suggests. Researchers found that people with type 2 diabetes who took cinnamon supplements had lower fasting plasma glucose levels compared with people who didn't take cinnamon....

Aug 31, 2013

What Is Molasses?

Thousands of fish have been reported dead in the waters around Honolulu after a massive spill of molasses. On Monday (Sept. 9), a pipeline from a molasses tank near Honolulu Harbor was loading the heavy, sweet liquid onto a ship when a leak in the pipeline dumped hundreds of thousands...

Aug 31, 2013

What is Known, and Unknown, About Parkinson's Disease? (Op-Ed)

Dr. Punit Agrawal is a neurologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. This fall, Michael J. Fox is back in the spotlight again, making his return to primetime television with a new show on NBC. Two decades...

Jul 31, 2013

Why Are Industrial Chemicals in Food Not Safety Tested? (Op-Ed)

Jennifer Sass is a senior scientist with the NRDC. This article is adapted from her post to the NRDC blog Switchboard. Sass contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Processed foods, which so many Americans eat every day, typically contains industrial chemical additives to preserve, flavor, thicken...

Jul 31, 2013

Ebola Treatment May Be On the Horizon (Op-Ed)

Jeff Nesbit was the director of public affairs for two prominent federal science agencies. This article was adapted from one that first appeared in U.S. News & World Report. Nesbit contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. U.S. Army medical researchers may have found an emergency treatment...

Jul 31, 2013

4 Immune Boosting Tips for Back-to-School Season

Strep throat, double ear infections and yet another nasty stomach bug. Is it biological warfare, or just another back-to-school season? Parents of young children know this scenario all too well, but this is a problem that affects many others too. Teachers, parents of teenagers and anyone attending classes themselves have...

Jun 30, 2013

Is Your Olive Oil As Healthy As You Think? (Op-Ed)

Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D., is a registered dietitian; author of Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations (LifeLine Press, 2011); and a frequent national commentator on nutrition topics. This article was adapted from one that first appeared in the Washington Post. Tallmadge contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert...

Jun 30, 2013

Why MERS is Not the New SARS

The new virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has been compared to that of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — the viruses belong to the same family, and are particularly deadly to infected people — however, the two conditions have some important differences, a new study says. While...

May 31, 2013

As Cancer Deaths Fall, Malignant-Melanoma Rates Climb (Op-Ed)

Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The American Cancer Society reports that death rates for many cancers in the United States have fallen — but that's not the case for melanoma. In fact, the...

May 31, 2013

Normal or Not? When Temper Tantrums Become a Disorder

Editor's Note: With the release of the latest edition of the mental health manual, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM), LiveScience takes a close look at some of the disorders it defines. This series asks the fundamental question: What is normal, and what is not? Angry...