Salvia is best known as somewhat of a meme—the goofy, over-the-counter psychedelic prevalent in head shops, notorious for its uncomfortable, short-lived hallucinogenic trip. Pretty much harmless, but a way that many young psychonauts get their toes wet. But the herb Salvia divinorum carries great cultural significance in some parts of the world, and research into …

Starting schools before 8:30 a.m. shows a tragic disregard for both the mental health of children and for science.

Scientists say they have taken a potentially important — and possibly controversial — step toward creating human eggs in a lab dish. A team of Japanese scientists turned human blood cells into stem cells, which they then transformed into very immature human eggs. The eggs are far too immature to be fertilized or make a baby. And much more research would be needed to create eggs that could be useful — and safe — for human reproduction.

Ahmet Hergune was killed during the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in 1974

New research from USC has uncovered a previously unknown genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The study provides insights on how these conditions, and other diseases of aging, might one day be treated and prevented. The research from the Cohen Lab at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology sheds new light on the protective role of a naturally occurring mitochondrial peptide, known as humanin.

Mammals are unique in many ways. We're warm-blooded and agile in comparison with our reptilian relatives. But a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Harvard University researchers Stephanie Pierce and Katrina Jones, suggests we're unique in one more way -- the makeup of our spines. The researchers describe their finding in a paper published this week in the journal Science.

Oval-shaped Dickinsonia lifeform existed at least 20m years before the ‘Cambrian explosion’ of animal life

Sufficient sleep has been proven to help keep the body healthy and the mind sharp. But it’s not just an issue of logging at least seven hours of Z’s. A new study on sleep patterns suggests that a regular bedtime and wake time are just as important for heart and metabolic health among older adults. In a study of 1,978 older adults published online Sept. 21 by the journal Scientific Reports, researchers at Duke Health and the Duke Clinical Research Institute found people with...

'There haven’t been any new drugs last 15 years, so it’s very promising to have uncovered a reason why some of that research may have failed'

Did the octopus evolve its unique intelligence by playing fast and free with the genetic code? Elizabeth Finkel investigates.

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs), including the common cold, influenza, and pneumonia, are quite common in children. On average, kids experience between three and six of these infections every year. Most cases resolve without any serious harm, but tens of millions of these infections require hospitalization each year across the globe. In fact, ARTIs account for a quarter of deaths in children under age five, with pneumonia by far inflicting the most casualties.

The evidence is in. A mysterious creature that lived on Earth over half a billion years ago has now been proven an animal. A fossil from 558 million years ago was so well preserved, it still had fat molecules.

The sociologist Margaret Hagerman spent two years embedded in upper-middle-class white households, listening in on conversations about race. By Joe Pinsker. (Sept. 4, 2018)

Physicists took a deeper look at the Leidenfrost effect, which you’ve likely experienced when you’ve dripped water into a pan to test its temperature.

A study in mice hints at a new approach for thwarting neurodegenerative diseases—but many questions remain.

The first simple blood test to identify your body’s precise internal time clock as compared to the external time has been developed by Northwestern Medicine scientists. The test, TimeSignature – which requires only two blood draws – can tell physicians and researchers the time in your body despite the time in the external world. For instance, even if it’s 8 a.m. in the external world, it might be 6 a.m. in your body.

​Diets like intermittent fasting are proving wildly popular for their rapid weight-loss effects, but scientists are also starting to uncover how they might benefit the body in other ways. A molecule produced during fasting has now been found to apply the brakes to aging of the vascular system.

New sorting algorithm yields more robust, replicable results than other methods.

A new study suggests that humans might have more in common with octopuses than it appears: they both respond to at least one psychoactive drug in a similar, sociable way. Scientists from Johns Hopkins University and the Marine Biological Laboratory on Cape Cod found that, just like humans, notoriously reserved (and sometimes violent) octopuses act friendly and social when they’re exposed to MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy or Molly.

Wasps are being wiped out as quickly as bees - and their disappearance will be just as disastrous, according to new research. But the plight of wasps is going under the radar compared to that of their close cousins - because of their unpopularity. Nature's unloved insects are best known for ruining picnics - and leaving a painful sting when we try to swat them away.

New study: Ingesting even a single piece of plastic exposes sea turtles to a 20% chance of death.

Scientists agree that the story of the universe began 13.8 billion years ago, when everything — all the matter and energy and even space itself — emerged from the extraordinarily hot, dense cauldron known as the Big Bang. But ask a scientist what came before that first moment, and you’re likely to get a shrug. To many, thinking about a time before the beginning of time makes no sense.

Someday doctors may prescribe sugar pills for certain chronic pain patients based on their brain anatomy and psychology. And the pills will reduce their pain as effectively as any powerful drug on the market, according to new research. Northwestern Medicine scientists have shown they can reliably predict which chronic pain patients will respond to a sugar placebo pill based on the patients’ brain anatomy and psychological characteristics.

We love to categorize ourselves and others into personality types. Maybe you’re a “Type A.” Or maybe the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, versions of which many have taken on Facebook, labels you a “Protector” (ISFJ). But how distinct are these types? Is everyone clearly Type A or Type B, with no one in between? Or do people fall on a spectrum? If there’s a spectrum, are there two clumps with a few people between, or one clump in the middle with a few people at the extremes?

A new paper has taken a ingenious route towards treating cocaine addicted mice – by developing a CRISPR-powered skin grafts that produce an anti-cocaine enzyme.

History and literature are filled with warnings about the danger of seeking eternal life. But in the latest episode of Crazy/Genius, some scientists say that a dramatic expansion of human lifespans is within reach.

In a few idyllic parts of Queensland grows the idiot fruit, a tall tree with intricate flowers and some of the largest seeds in Australia.

It's a devastating case that serves as the medical warning we didn't even know we needed. An organ donor unknowingly bequeathed her undetected, malignant cancer at the same time as her organs.

Parks are doing what they can to keep the nation’s natural treasures safe for future generations — and out of your car's trunk.

Those who take on the global industry that traps research behind paywalls are heroes, not thieves, says George Monbiot

Two leading scientists have issued a call for massive swathes of the planet’s land and sea to be protected from human interference in order to avert mass extinction. Current levels of protection “do not even come close to required levels”, they said, urging world leaders to come to a new arrangement by which at least 30 per cent of the planet’s surface is formally protected by 2030. Chief scientist of the National Geographic Society Jonathan Baillie and Chinese Academy of Sciences biologist Ya-Ping Zhang made their views clear in an editorial published in the journal Science.

Planet on brink of 'tipping point' as thawing soil and sediment releases large volumes of carbon dioxide and methane into atmosphere. The world is on course to exceed global warming limits set out in the Paris climate agreement much earlier than previously thought, scientists have warned, following the first comprehensive study of the impact of melting permafrost.

Homicide is the third most prevalent cause of workplace death.

As a type of immune cell, it has always been considered one of the good guys. But in a stunning breakthrough in schizophrenia research, scientists say the "macrophage" immune cell can go rogue, causing havoc in the brain. "Macrophage" means "big eaters" in Greek and is a fitting name for the cell because - when behaving - it digests cellular debris and foreign substances.

California is set to launch a satellite to track greenhouse gases, as former US Secretary of State John Kerry and island nation leaders warned that the world is far off course to avoid the worst effects of rising temperatures. Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans for the satellite on the last day of a climate change summit hosted by San Francisco, in a final rebuke to President Donald Trump’s denial of man-made warming.