DNA testing is a booming global business enabled by the internet. Millions of people have sent samples of their saliva to commercial labs in hopes of learning something new about their personal health or heritage, primarily in the United States and Europe. In some places, commercial tests are banned.

By Christian Jarrett. The findings challenge the idea that depressed people are seeking to perpetuate their low mood.

In 2013, IBM sold the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center on an audacious idea: that a single AI-powered platform, IBM Watson, could lend a digital hand to battle one of mankind’s most abominable diseases—cancer. In less than four years, the trailblazing moonshot fell apart. Yet even as Watson stumbled, it provided valuable insight—and a powerful peek ahead—at how machine learning technologies could one day supplement and revolutionize almost everything doctors do.

The long read: For a century, the humble paper towel has dominated public toilets. But a new generation of hand dryers has sparked a war for loo supremacy

In the race for jobs, the capacity for leisure can give humans a surprising edge.

The way officials have responded to the spread of African swine fever has brought back uncomfortable memories of SARS.

Which do you relate to most? By Juliette Virzi.

You can have £10 today or £12 next week. Which do you go for? Being able to forego a reward now in favour of gaining something better later is known to be important in determining all kinds of desirable outcomes in life, including greater educational attainment, social functioning and health.

America's couch potatoes are becoming ever more deeply rooted, and computers are the reason why. The amount of time people spend sitting around has increased in recent years, driven largely by more leisure time spent with a computer, federal survey data shows. Total daily sitting time increased about an hour a day for teenagers and adults between 2007 and 2016, the researchers found. Teens spend an average 8.2 hours a day plopped down, and adults about 6.4 hours.

For years, I was known in my friend group as “the calm one.” I took this label as a compliment because it meant I was stable. I could handle stress well. I could use a well-modulated voice and carefully chosen words in a conflict. I could articulate rather than emote. I felt these were worthy accomplishments and signs of superiority — clear indications that I wasn’t a weak, emotional creature, but a strong, stable, mature, logical person.

There are health dangers of eating seeds. In the first article of this series, Health Dangers of a Plant-Based Diet, we discovered how plants have motivations for their survival, not human health. And to protect themselves, plants use phytochecmicals to deter predators from eating them. These toxins fight back against fungi, insects, and animal predators – including us humans.

Practice makes perfect. You have probably heard it a million times. When people say the same thing over and over again it’s easy to overlook it. When was the last time you applied this adage proactively? We all have things we want to get better at. We all want to do more, to be more. Consistency – sticking to the practice of your craft – is timely advice, but how does it apply to daily life?

This study is radically changing how we view the process of evolution.

Why do many people go shopping the minute they have money in their wallets? Material wealth brings you happiness, albeit temporarily. Only a few days after a new purchase, the thrill, pleasure, and enjoyment you felt begins to fade. It turns out that as soon as you get used to your new purchase, your level of satisfaction decreases and you feel compelled to go shopping again for the next exciting thing. This vicious cycle repeats itself over and over again.

Could a cure for cancer be hiding in the elephant’s genetic code? The massive mammals have a much lower incidence of cancer than one would expect, given their size and long life span. It’s a phenomenon popularized by Oxford University epidemiologist Richard Peto, called Peto’s paradox, that larger animals have lower incidences of cancer, despite having exponentially more cells with the potential to mutate. Now, researchers believe they know why, and it could reap dividends for humans.

Here is what I said to my distressed, dying child, as lovingly and reassuringly as possible: “You will not be alone. You will not feel pain. We will be okay.” He needed each of these phrases more than “I love you.”

Forget the morning routines of successful people. What works for them won't necessarily work for you. But these 5 mental states are universal for top performance.

New research examines how five major dietary patterns may affect the risk of developing heart failure among people without heart disease.

Even for people who are deeply disabled neurologically, nature can be more powerful than any medication. By Oliver Sacks.

Obesity can break down our protective blood brain barrier resulting in problems with learning and memory, scientists report. They knew that chronic activation of the receptor Adora2a on the endothelial cells that line this important barrier in our brain can let factors from the blood enter the brain and affect the function of our neurons.