Health, features and articles | Educational Science

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...

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...