Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 31, 2018

What Caused This Man's Sudden, Monthly Sweating Episodes?

There's nothing strange about breaking out into a heavy sweat on a sweltering day, or, after some serious physical activity. But if you regularly started sweating heavily for no apparent reason — and on a monthly basis, for that matter — well, that might be a cause for concern. That's...

Dec 31, 2018

Here's How 'Flesh-Eating' Bacteria Feast on Your Flesh

Flesh-eating bacteria can cause serious infections that can result in loss of limbs and even death. Now, a new study reveals just how the bacteria thrive deep in muscle tissue and cause such severe disease. The study focused on bacteria called group A Streptococcus, the most common cause of flesh-eating...

Dec 31, 2018

A Young, Pro Athlete Nearly Died After Swallowing a Toothpick

He was a young and fit pro athlete, but he came dangerously close to death when he accidentally swallowed a rather commonplace item: a toothpick. The seemingly mundane toothpick wreaked havoc inside the 18-year-old man's body, where the object punctured the wall of his lower intestine and poked into an...

Nov 30, 2020

COVID-19 may have arrived in US by December 2019

COVID-19 may have already arrived in the United States by December 2019, before the disease was even identified in China, a new study suggests. The study researchers, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), analyzed more than 7,000 blood donations collected by the American Red Cross in nine...

Nov 30, 2020

Why did this man's urine turn green?

A hospitalized man's case took a strange turn when his urine became a murky shade of green, according to a new report. Although alarming, the unusual color turned out to be a harmless side effect of his medication. The 62-year-old man had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung...

Nov 30, 2020

Microwave pulses caused bizarre ‘Havana syndrome,’ report suggests

A string of mysterious neurological illnesses reported by U.S. diplomats in Cuba was likely caused by directed microwave energy, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences. In late 2016, people who worked at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba, started to develop unexplained symptoms including hearing...

Nov 30, 2020

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine starts to work just 10 days after 1st dose

Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine starts to protect people from the novel coronavirus just 10 days after the first dose, according to new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents were released on Tuesday (Dec. 8), two days before a meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel,...

Nov 30, 2020

COVID-19 vaccines: The new technology that made them possible

Days before her 91st birthday, Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials. Keenan, who was sporting a polka-dot cardigan over a festive shirt, was given the first dose of a two-dose vaccine at the University Hospital Coventry in...

Nov 30, 2020

Fast-spreading UK coronavirus variant: All your questions answered

Editor's Note: This story was last updated on Feb. 1, 2021. A scary new strain of coronavirus, innocuously named B.1.1.7, has recently exploded across southeast England, prompting the government to tighten lockdowns on the region. Though we don't know all the details, experts are increasingly confident it is more easily...

Oct 31, 2020

Are you genetically more similar to your mom or your dad?

He's the spitting image of his dad! Or: She's her mom's clone — except for the nose. Clearly from her father's side of the family. As we watch kids grow up, we tend to look for likenesses between them and their parents. So which parent contributes more genetically? The answer...

Oct 31, 2020

AI can detect COVID-19 from the sound of your cough

People with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic can spread the disease without any outward signs that they're sick. But a newly developed AI, with a keen algorithmic ear, might be able to detect asymptomatic cases from the sounds of people's coughs, according to a new study. A group of researchers at...

Oct 31, 2020

What are cytokines?

Cytokines are molecules that allow your cells to talk to each other, and are crucial for healthy immune system function. Too many cytokines, however, can have a negative effect and result in what's known as a cytokine storm. These small signaling molecules are produced by many different immune cells, such...

Oct 31, 2020

US tops 10 million coronavirus cases

The United States reached an astonishing milestone today (Nov. 9): 10 million total coronavirus cases have been diagnosed since the start of the pandemic, with case counts accelerating dramatically in recent weeks. The country's total now stands at just over 10 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. It took just...

Oct 31, 2020

Wearing a cloth face mask protects you and others from getting COVID-19, CDC says

Cloth face masks offer two-way protection, benefitting both the wearer and those around them, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Previously, the CDC had emphasized the role of cloth face masks in blocking the release of infectious virus particles when the wearer coughs,...

Oct 31, 2020

COVID-19 reveals how obesity harms the body in real time

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the obesity epidemic once again into the spotlight, revealing that obesity is no longer a disease that harms just in the long run but one that can have acutely devastating effects. New studies and information confirm doctors’ suspicion that this virus takes advantage of a...