Surgery, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 10, 2017

'Tree Man' Has Surgery: What Causes This Rare Condition?

A 27-year-old man in Bangladesh known as the tree man recently underwent surgery to remove the extensive, wood-like warts that covered his hands and feet. But what causes this rare disease? Over the past year, the man, Abul Bajandar, has undergone 16 surgeries to remove 11 lbs. (5 kilograms) of...

Jan 12, 2017

The Science of Beauty: What's Really Driving the Fuller Lip Trend?

A quick scroll through Instagram may leave you with the impression that full lips are in style at this very moment, but a new scientific analysis of fashion models says that the trend is surprisingly absent. One explanation for the results may be that the fashion industry is no longer...

Jan 25, 2017

Scientists Grow Mouse Pancreas Inside a Rat

In a recent experiment to help out mice that were missing their pancreases, scientists grew new pancreases from mouse stem cells in the bodies of rats, and then transplanted those pancreases into the mice. The researchers found that this technique could reverse diabetes in the mice, according to a new...

Jan 26, 2017

Human-Pig Chimeras Created, Could One Day Aid in Organ Transplants

In experiments aimed at finding ways to grow new human organs inside animals, researchers recently succeeded in making embryos that contained both pig and human and pig cells. These so-called human-pig chimeras (which contained only a small number of human cells) were allowed to develop for several weeks in female...

Mar 2, 2017

Reviving Frozen Organs: Nanotech May Pave the Way

Frozen organs could be brought back to life safely one day with the aid of nanotechnology, a new study finds. The development could help make donated organs available for virtually everyone who needs them in the future, the researchers say. The number of donated organs that could be transplanted into...

Mar 21, 2017

Infant's Rare 'Parasitic Twin' Successfully Removed with Surgery

A 10-month-old girl who was born with a rare parasitic twin attached to her body has undergone a successful surgery to separate her from this underdeveloped twin. The infant, named Dominique, was born with the lower half of her twin's body — including legs and feet — protruding from her...

Apr 5, 2017

Fetus Brought Partway Out of Womb for Tumor Surgery

Surgeons in Philadelphia recently removed a tumor from what may be the tiniest heart ever to undergo surgery. The heart belonged to a 21-week-old fetus, still inside the womb. The fetus was just about 6 inches [15 centimeters] in total length, and his heart was the size of a peanut,...

Apr 12, 2017

Opioids After Surgery: Which Patients Don't Stop When They Should

The first time many patients in the United States take prescription opioid painkillers is following surgery. But not everyone puts away the pills: In a new study, researchers found that 6 percent of patients continued to use the drugs for at least three months after surgery. The researchers wanted to...

May 3, 2017

Man Survives 'Hangman's Fracture' After Crash

A young man in Tunisia who was in a high-speed crash suffered a broken neck — in an injury doctors call a hangman's fracture — yet recovered with no lingering problems, according to a recent report of the man's case. A hangman's fracture refers to a neck injury that occurs...

May 11, 2017

Can a 'Poop Transplant' Change Your Weight?

CHICAGO — Studies in mice have garnered attention for a remarkable result: When the feces of one mouse was transplanted to another mouse, the recipient mouse either gained or lost weight. But can these transplants — which doctors call fecal microbiota transplantations, or FMTs, and which everyone else calls poop...

Jun 3, 2017

Get Gutsy About Your Digestive Health

Live Science is bringing our readers a monthly series on personal health goals. We'll give you tips and tricks for reaching those goals, based on the advice we've gathered from the many health experts we've interviewed. Each month, we'll focus on a different goal, and the goal for July is...

Jun 14, 2017

Meet the 'Eyeborg': The Man with a Camera Eye

The cyborg revolution is coming — one glowing eyeball at a time. Rob Spence, a documentary filmmaker from Canada, has a prosthetic eye that doubles as a video camera. Spence, who is in his 40s, accidentally shot himself in the eye as a child, and though he retained his damaged...

Jun 15, 2017

Impacted Wisdom Teeth: Oral Surgery and Extraction

Evolution has rendered wisdom teeth, also called third molars, unnecessary in humans. If trapped in the gums, impacted wisdom teeth may lead to dental problems such as pain, infection or misalignment of other teeth. Ten million wisdom teeth are extracted from approximately 5 million people in the United States each...

Jul 11, 2017

How John F. Kennedy's Back Pain Affected His Life and Death

For the first time, researchers have pieced together a detailed story of John F. Kennedy's back pain, his spinal surgeries, medical evaluations and treatments. The analysis provides a deeper understanding of the differences between the 35th president's public persona, as a man of health and vigor, and his private reality...

Jul 18, 2017

Gunshot Victim Becomes Youngest Person in US to Receive a Face Transplant

A 21-year-old woman who was shot in the face as a teenager has become the youngest person in the United States to receive a face transplant. The woman, who suffered severe trauma to her face as a result of the gunshot wound, underwent the 31-hour face transplant surgery in May...