Health
Discover facts about health. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Health
Mosquito magnets carry a chemical clue on their skin.
Mosquito magnets carry a chemical clue on their skin. A 2022 study found that people who attracted more mosquitoes tended to produce higher levels of certain…
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Scurvy can develop in a modern kitchen, not just on an old sailing ship.
Scurvy can develop in a modern kitchen, not just on an old sailing ship. A severely restricted diet can leave someone short of vitamin C even when food is…
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A bacon campaign helped turn a hearty breakfast into medical-sounding advice.
A bacon campaign helped turn a hearty breakfast into medical-sounding advice. In the 1920s, Edward Bernays sought doctors’ support for a heavier morning meal…
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A heart attack can look less dramatic than you expect.
A heart attack can look less dramatic than you expect. Chest discomfort is the most common heart attack symptom in women as well as men. But shortness of…
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Slouching in your office chair might actually be better for your spinal health than rigidly forcing yourself to sit up straight like a Victorian aristocrat.
Slouching in your office chair might actually be better for your spinal health than rigidly forcing yourself to sit up straight like a Victorian aristocrat.…
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Newborns react to sudden changes before they can understand danger.
Newborns react to sudden changes before they can understand danger. A loss of support can trigger the Moro reflex: the arms extend and then draw back in a…
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Butterflies in your stomach are one way excitement reaches the digestive system.
Butterflies in your stomach are one way excitement reaches the digestive system. A crush or a threat can activate stress responses that change gut movement…
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You can experience a flash of light without light entering your eye.
You can experience a flash of light without light entering your eye. Phosphenes arise when the visual system is stimulated in other ways, including mechanical…
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Your gut can turn healthy food into a rotten-egg smell.
Your gut can turn healthy food into a rotten-egg smell. Bacteria break down material that reaches the intestine, producing gases as they work. Hydrogen…
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Refined sugar triggers an intense inflammatory response within the body, heavily suppressing your immune system function for hours after consumption.
Refined sugar triggers an intense inflammatory response within the body, heavily suppressing your immune system function for hours after consumption. A large…
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Your pupils can widen while you work out a hard answer.
Your pupils can widen while you work out a hard answer. Mental effort can produce small pupil changes even when the lighting stays the same. Researchers…
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Most of your blood's volume is liquid, not cells.
Most of your blood's volume is liquid, not cells. Plasma makes up roughly 55% of blood and is mostly water, carrying proteins, salts, and other dissolved…
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Human eyes can distinguish between approximately 10 million different colors thanks to the complex network of rods and cones in the retina.
Human eyes can distinguish between approximately 10 million different colors thanks to the complex network of rods and cones in the retina. Cones respond to…
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Looking down at your smartphone forces your neck to support up to sixty pounds of additional weight, placing a massive structural strain on your cervical spine.
Looking down at your smartphone forces your neck to support up to sixty pounds of additional weight, placing a massive structural strain on your cervical…
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Coffee and food count toward hydration, too.
Coffee and food count toward hydration, too. The body uses water from drinks and food, rather than counting only glasses of plain water. Guidance about daily…
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A tissue sample can hide the very spaces scientists want to see.
A tissue sample can hide the very spaces scientists want to see. In 2018, researchers used live microscopic imaging and carefully preserved samples to…
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The stretch that comes with a yawn has a name: pandiculation.
The stretch that comes with a yawn has a name: pandiculation. It combines a familiar stretching action with the transition from rest to activity, especially…
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Continuous, uninterrupted webs of connective tissue called fascia physically weave through your entire body, wrapping around every single muscle, bone, nerve, and major organ like biological cling wrap.
Continuous, uninterrupted webs of connective tissue called fascia physically weave through your entire body, wrapping around every single muscle, bone, nerve,…
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Listening to loud music while drinking alcohol actually makes you consume your drinks significantly faster than you would in a quiet, relaxed environment.
Listening to loud music while drinking alcohol actually makes you consume your drinks significantly faster than you would in a quiet, relaxed environment.…
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Mint can make your mouth feel cold without lowering its temperature.
Mint can make your mouth feel cold without lowering its temperature. Menthol activates a receptor called TRPM8 that also responds to cooling. Your nervous…
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Human saliva contains opiorphin, a molecule that helps protect the body's own pain-relieving chemicals from breakdown.
Human saliva contains opiorphin, a molecule that helps protect the body's own pain-relieving chemicals from breakdown. In rat experiments, injected opiorphin…
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Blue-light filtering is not the same thing as relief from screen strain.
Blue-light filtering is not the same thing as relief from screen strain. A Cochrane review found little evidence that filtering lenses improve short-term…
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Testicular pain can make your whole abdomen feel involved.
Testicular pain can make your whole abdomen feel involved. The testicles have many sensitive nerves, and pain there can be accompanied by abdominal pain,…
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Double-jointed people have extra movement, not extra joints.
Double-jointed people have extra movement, not extra joints. Hypermobility describes joints that move beyond the usual range, influenced by the structures…
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