Health

Get all the health news without the hype. From diet and exercise tips and mental health findings to the latest discoveries in disease treatment and that science of aging, Live Science Health delivers thoughtful, well-researched news and features that you can trust.

Science
Man Coughs Up a Giant Blood Clot in the Shape of His Lung
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Coughing up blood is an alarming symptom, but it's not particularly rare. Even so, one man in California shocked his doctors when he coughed up an …
Molecular Biology
'It Was Just Dead Brain Tissue': Seattle Woman Dies from Extremely Unusual Infection
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It started with a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. So, in an attempt to give the 69-year-old Seattle woman some relief, doctors recommended …
Science
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
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Between late July and early September of 2018, three major league baseball pitchers — all on different teams — came down with hand, foot and mouth …
Science
'Chemo Brain' May Result from Effects on 'Helper Cells.' The Finding Could Lead to Possible Treatments.
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"Chemo brain," the problems with thinking and memory tied to chemotherapy, can be a frustrating and even debilitating side effect of cancer …
Molecular Biology
Uterine Cancer Killing More US Women, with Black Women Hardest Hit
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More women in the U.S. are developing and dying from uterine cancer than they were nearly two decades ago, and black women are "disproportionately" …
Science
A Common Virus May Be Linked to Heart Problems in Fetuses
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A common virus that typically causes only mild symptoms in adults might lead to heart defects in developing human fetuses, a recent study …
Science
A Woman's Odd Symptoms After Chiropractic 'Neck Manipulation' Revealed a Brain Cyst
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A women's chiropractic procedure to manipulate her neck may have inadvertently led doctors to discover a large cyst in her brain that had likely been …
Molecular Biology
Cancer DNA Binds to Gold. That Could Lead to New Cancer Blood Test.
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Researchers have discovered a curious difference between the DNA from cancer cells and that from healthy cells, and this finding could lead to a new …
Molecular Biology
Common Chemicals in Toiletries May Lead to Early Puberty
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Since the early 2000s, researchers have noticed a troubling new trend in female development: Girls are entering puberty — developing breasts, pubic …
Molecular Biology
Sculptor Unknowingly Poisons Herself with Her Own Art
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When a sculptor in Toronto started feeling ill in 2013, she had no idea that her art was the reason why. The sculptor, Gillian Genser, had been using …
Science
Shingles: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
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Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a viral disease that can cause a painful, blistering rash, which usually appears on one side of the body. …
Immune System
This Gene Can Make Viruses Invisible to the Immune System — Up to a Point
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Our immune system is great at protecting us from the germs that surround us everyday — but every machine has its kinks. One gene, which protects the …
Brainwaves
Babies Create a Mental Map of Their Body Before They Ever Leave the Womb
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Among the most exciting moments during pregnancy is when a mother-to-be feels her baby move inside her. Now, research suggests that that kicking …
Science
Vaping Marijuana Gets You Way, Way Higher Than Smoking It, Study Finds
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Scientists have proved that inhaling vaporized marijuana will get you, like, way higher than smoking the exact same amount of weed. The new research, …
Science
Scary 'New' Tick Has US Officials Worried
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A species of tick native to Asia is spreading across the United States, according to a new report. This tick, known as the longhorned tick, or …
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Here's How Dangerous, Deadly Prions Spread to the Brain
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Infectious proteins called prions — which cause devastating brain diseases including "mad cow" disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — can, in rare …
Science
US Life Expectancy Dropped in 2017. Drug Overdose Deaths Are a Big Reason Why
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Life expectancy for the average person in the U.S. dropped slightly in 2017, marking the second time in recent years that U.S. life expectancy has …
Science
Lab-Grown Miniplacentas Resemble the Real Thing So Much, They Fooled a Pregnancy Test
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You can add another miniorgan to the growing list of tiny, simplified body parts that scientists have grown in a lab. This time around, it's …
Science
What Are Amphetamines?
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Amphetamines are central nervous system (CNS) stimulants, also called psycho-stimulants, that are often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity …
Molecular Biology
Why the Gene-Edited Babies Will Never Have Genetic Privacy
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The reported birth of two gene-edited baby girls in China has created a slew of ethical quandaries, with geneticists the world over appalled at the …
Science
How Do Scientists Prove That Twin Babies Had Their Genes Edited?
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Questions are swirling after the announcement that the first gene-edited babies were born earlier this month — including what exactly researchers did …
Molecular Biology
Scientist Who Gene-Edited Babies Speaks at Conference, Addresses Controversial Research
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Jiankui He, the Chinese scientist who claims to have edited the genes of twin babies, spoke publicly about his research for the first time today …
Molecular Biology
Dads (Not Just Moms) Can Pass on Mitochondrial DNA, According to Provocative New Study
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It's long been thought that people inherit mitochondrial DNA — genetic material found inside cells' mitochondria — exclusively from their mothers. …
Science
6 Doctors Swallowed and Pooped Lego Minifigures So You Don't Have To
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Earlier this year, six pediatric scientists decapitated six Lego minifigures, then swallowed the heads. The researchers did this to answer a simple, …
Science
Gene-Edited Babies Reportedly Born in China. What Could Go Wrong?
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A scientist in China may have used a powerful gene-editing tool to snip out unwanted genes from human embryos, creating the first genetically …
Sports Medicine
Why Do I Get Sore Days After I’ve Worked Out?
Live Science - Donavyn Coffey
You crush your morning workout — running farther, lifting heavier or getting in one more round of that circuit. But that sweet satisfaction can …
Science
Many Kids Are Given Probiotics for Stomach Bugs. But They May Not Help At All.
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When kids catch a stomach bug, they are increasingly treated with probiotics in the hopes of improving the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. But …
Science
Can You Get a Sunburn in Winter?
Live Science - Knvul Sheikh
As it gets colder and we start bundling up in jackets and earmuffs, most of us tend to stop thinking about our sun exposure. After all, how much …
Lips
Can Lip Balm Make Your Chapped Lips Worse?
Live Science - Knvul Sheikh
You need your lips to talk, take duck-face selfies and kiss your loved ones. That's why dry, chapped lips can not only be itchy and painful, they can …