Medicine

Towana Looney's surgery at NYU Langone Health lasted seven hours and involved dozens of medical professionals.

An Alabama Woman Got a Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant. Three Weeks Later, She Has 'Never Felt Better'

On November 25, 53-year-old Towana Looney became just the third living person to receive a pig kidney in an experimental procedure

DNA on Earth is built from sugars with a property known as right-handedness. Though left-handed sugars aren't used by any known life, scientists can create them—but now, researchers say they shouldn't.

Scientists Warn of an 'Unprecedented Risk' From Synthetic 'Mirror Life,' Built With a Reverse Version of Natural Proteins and Sugars

So-called mirror cells could rampage through our ecosystems, food supply and immune systems, experts say, potentially without existing barriers to protect against them

Fat tissue, as seen here under a scanning electron micrograph, maintains a "memory" of obesity, new research suggests.

Fat Cells Retain a 'Memory' of Obesity, Making It Hard to Lose Weight and Keep It Off, Study Suggests

Obesity leads to DNA alterations that affect gene activity and linger after weight loss, a finding that researchers say could help reduce stigma around the disease

The 3D bioprinter at the Collins BioMicrosystems Laboratory at the University of Melbourne.

New 3D Bioprinter Could Build Replicas of Human Organs, Offering a Boost for Drug Discovery

The invention uses light, sound and bubbles to quickly create copies of soft tissue that might one day support testing individualized therapies for cancer and other diseases

Australian Reptile Park spider expert Rob Porter milks a male Sydney funnel-web spider to create antivenom in 2001.

Australian Zoo Asks Residents to Capture the World’s Most Venomous Spider: the Deadly Sydney Funnel-Web

The Australian Reptile Park’s annual callout is crucial to creating life-saving antivenom

A dried sample of the original Penicillium mold that Fleming discovered in 1928.

The ‘Penicillin Girls’ Made One of the World’s Most Life-Saving Discoveries Possible

The true, forgotten and sometimes-stinky history of the cohort who took Alexander Fleming's innovation and forever changed the face of modern medicine

Albert Hoffman, the chemist who first synthesized LSD, as photographed in 1976

Discover the Origins of a Psychedelic Drug Synthesized by a Swiss Chemist Who Claimed It 'Found and Called Me'

Five years after he created LSD in a lab on this day in 1938, Albert Hofmann accidentally underwent the first acid trip in human history, experiencing a kaleidoscope of colors and images in a sleepy Swiss city

Officials are trying to recapture more than 40 monkeys that escaped from a research facility in Yemassee, South Carolina.

Forty-Three Monkeys Are on the Loose in South Carolina After Escaping a Research Facility When a Door Was Left Unsecured

Once the first primate made a break, the 42 others followed suit in a simple case of monkey-see, monkey-do

Sugar exposure during the first 1,000 days after conception is linked with type 2 diabetes and hypertension later in life, according to a new study.

How Sugar Rationing During World War II Fended Off Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Later in Life

Babies who were conceived and born during the period of rationing in the United Kingdom were less likely to develop certain diseases as adults, a new study finds

Moira was released into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego last month. Activities conducted under the Stranding Agreement between NMFS and SeaWorld California under the Authority of the MMPA.

After Months of Rehab, Moira the Cold-Stunned Sea Turtle Has Been Returned to the Wild

When fishermen found the endangered loggerhead sea turtle off Vancouver Island in February, she was listlessly floating in a bed of kelp

The lack of a sense of smell, called anosmia, can be congenital or acquired at some point in a person's lifetime.

People Born Without a Sense of Smell Have Different Breathing Patterns, Study Finds

Study participants with lifelong anosmia sniffed less than those with a normal sense of smell. Future research could shed light on whether this has negative implications for their health

Scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, is easy to treat with supplements and dietary changes.

Is Scurvy Making a Comeback? Two Recent Cases Highlight How the Illness Can Appear in the Modern World

Scurvy diagnoses in Australia and Canada suggest doctors should consider testing for vitamin C deficiency in patients experiencing poverty, food insecurity and social isolation

Clark Stanley’s snake oil was a marketing gimmick from the very start. 

How Snake Oil Became a Symbol of Fraud and Deception

The terms “snake oil” and “snake-oil salesperson” are part of the vernacular thanks to Clark Stanley, a quack doctor who marketed a product for joint pain in the late 19th century

Two comb jellies have fused together and are being probed by a pipette.

These Frankenstein-Like Sea Creatures Can Actually Fuse Their Bodies Together

Two comb jellies can merge their digestive and nervous systems and even sync their bodily functions, according to new research. The discovery could have implications for human medicine

A group of old men playing cards in a bar in Acciaroli, southern Italy, in 2016. The town has a disproportionately high number of centenarians.

Human Lifespan Might Be About to Hit a Ceiling, Experts Say

In the ’90s, many scientists disputed an epidemiologist’s warning that the fast-paced life extension of the 20th century would plateau. Now, a new study suggests he was right

An illustration of a pluripotent stem cell, which can be coaxed to develop into various kinds of tissue

World-First Stem Cell Treatment Reverses Diabetes for a Patient in China, Study Suggests

Scientists converted the patient’s own cells into blood sugar-regulating cell clusters before injecting them back into her abdomen—and one year later, she still doesn't need insulin injections

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for their work on protein structure.

Scientists' Work on Protein Structure, Which Governs All Aspects of Life, Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper revealed how amino acids shape protein structure, a finding that could aid in drug discovery

A pregnant mother’s mental wellness can impact her child’s future physical, mental and behavioral health

Can a Mother’s Mental Health Impact a Baby in the Womb?

Growing research indicates a pregnant woman’s stress level and overall mental well-being can affect fetal and child development, yet access to prenatal mental health care remains inadequate

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, who together discovered microRNA.

American Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Medicine for 'Groundbreaking' Gene Discovery Made by Studying Worms

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA, tiny molecules that play a crucial role in how cells develop, paving the way for new treatments for diseases

Annual mammograms are recommended for women in their 40s and above, but new research suggests younger adults are increasingly at risk for breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Cases Are Rising Among Younger Women, Report Finds

Though breast cancer mortality is declining overall, Asian American women and women under 50 have experienced an uptick in diagnoses of the disease

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