Body

The new hydrogel might someday lead to shock-absorbing smartphone cases, as well as better bullet-proof vests and space equipment.

This New Shock-Absorbing Gel Can Withstand Supersonic Impacts

Made from a resilient protein in human cells, the technology could improve body armor, space gear and even cell phone cases

The study found that the human particpants and rats jerked their heads in a similar rhythm as the songs played. 

Watch These Rats 'Dance' to the Rhythms of Mozart, Lady Gaga and Queen

Moving accurately to a song’s beat was long thought to be a skill unique to humans, but new research suggests rats can do it, too

Hikers discovered Ötzi the ice mummy in September 1991 in the Tyrolean Alps.

Rewriting the Story of Ötzi, the Murdered Iceman

A new study suggests that nearly everything archaeologists thought they knew about the 5,300-year-old corpse’s preservation was wrong

African savanna elephants have about 63,000 neurons in the part of their brain that controls facial movement. Humans only have about 8,000 to 9,000.

What an Elephant’s Brain Reveals About Its Trunk

Elephants have tens of thousands of facial neurons, more than any other land mammal

A yoga instructor practices a breathing exercise.

How Does Breathing Affect Your Brain?

Neuroscientist are piecing together how the rhythm of respiration influences everything from cognition to emotion

RoboCap compared to the size of a penny

Robotic Pill Aims to Replace Insulin Shots, Injected Antibiotics

The capsule withstands stomach acid and drills through mucus to deliver medication to the gut

Researchers found chewing gum can increase metabolic rates by up to 15 percent.   

Chewing Uses More Energy Than You'd Think

And it may have influenced the way our jaws and teeth evolved

Scientists want to open a dialogue with intelligent extraterrestrial beings in the Milky Way.

Art Meets Science

Why NASA Scientists Want to Send Nudes to Space

The naked truth: It’s a plan to make contact with intelligent life forms in the Milky Way

Scientists are turning scientific date, like DNA sequences, into sound.

Why Scientists Are Turning Molecules Into Music

Converting DNA sequences and particle vibrations into notes allows researchers to recognize unseen patterns and create songs for outreach

New mental health treatments employ psychedelics and virtual reality.

The Future of Mental Health

The Future of Mental Health

A renewed focus on our brain's ability to cope with trauma sparks a special series of stories about the latest advancements in treatments of mental illness

Researchers at George Mason University are designing an experiment to test whether honey collected from bees foraging near human corpses will contain evidence of those remains.   

Forensic Scientists Are Testing Whether Honey Bees Can Help Locate Human Bodies

Researchers think they can find evidence of volatile organic compounds from a decomposing body in honey

The participants could have been exposed to microplastics through air, water and food, but also through personal care products like toothpaste or lip gloss that might have been accidentally ingested, dental polymers, parts of implants or tattoo ink residues.

Microplastics Detected in Human Blood in New Study

Researchers found plastic in the blood of 17 of 22 of study participants, or about 77 percent

Scientists built this synthetic fish using paper, plastic, gelatin and human heart cells.

Scientists Build an Artificial Fish That Swims on Its Own Using Human Heart Cells

The experiment could advance pacemaker technology and bring science closer to developing artificial hearts for people

A bar proprietress drinks during her 101st birthday party at her tiny bar in Tokyo.

Old-Age Record Could Reach 130 by Century's End

Analysis of supercentenarians suggests human lifespan may have no limit

By studying the friction generated in a finger snap, a team of scientists concluded that it would've been physically impossible to snap while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.

If Marvel Obeyed Physics, Thanos Couldn't Have Snapped While Wearing the Infinity Gauntlet

Inspired by the 'Avengers: Infinity War' movie, a group of scientists investigated the friction behind the iconic finger snap

Ultrasound of a 4-month-old fetus

A Brief History of the Sonogram

In the mid-1950s, a Scottish obstetrician became the first to apply ultrasound technology to a pregnant human abdomen

The device includes a hemofilter made up of silicon semiconductor membranes that remove waste products from blood and a bioreactor containing renal tubule cells that regulate water volume, electrolyte balance and other metabolic functions.

Innovation for Good

This Bioartificial Organ Could One Day Save 'Millions' Living With Kidney Disorders

Scientists won a $650,000 prize for the successful demonstration of the prototype

DARPA's initial, modest goal is to alleviate jet lag.

Innovation for Good

This Implant Could One Day Control Your Sleep and Wake Cycles

The so-called 'living pharmacy' will be able to manufacture pharmaceuticals from inside the body

This image diagrams the difference between human and chimpanzee models of thumb muscles, which the researchers used to study the evolution of thumb dexterity.

How Dexterous Thumbs May Have Helped Shape Evolution Two Million Years Ago

Fossils and biochemical models show tool-wielding hominins used their hands like we do today

A woman scratches her forearm.

The Search for What Causes Chronic Itching

Scientists are making headway on parsing the condition's biological underpinnings, in hope of better treatments

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