Biologists at several startups are applying the latest advances in genetic engineering to the age-old problem of baldness, creating new hair-forming cells that could restore a person’s ability to grow hair.

The cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends, scientists have said. Plastics are of particularly high concern, they said, along with 350,000 synthetic chemicals including pesticides, industrial compounds and antibiotics. Plastic pollution is now found from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and some toxic chemicals, such as PCBs, are long-lasting and widespread.

One hormone we are seeing implicated more and more in obesity research goes by the name of leptin, and scientists continue to demonstrate how changing the way the body responds to it might lead to improved health. A new study has shown how targeting an enzyme within fat cells can alter sensitivity to leptin and in turn drive rapid weight loss in obese mice, while also improving overall metabolic health.

A 4 billion-year-old meteorite from Mars that caused a splash here on Earth decades ago contains no evidence of ancient, primitive Martian life after all, scientists reported Thursday. In 1996, a NASA-led team announced that organic compounds in the rock appeared to have been left by living creatures. Other scientists were skeptical and researchers chipped away at that premise over the decades, most recently by a team led by the Carnegie Institution for Science's Andrew Steele.

We should be exploring all avenues of possible treatment and prevention for COVID-19, but patchwork laws and federal prohibition put up roadblocks.

Consuming sweeteners during pregnancy may affect baby’s microbiome and obesity risk, finds new study in Frontiers in Nutrition

Sleep deprivation can increase sugar consumption.

Losing My Religion was one of the defining songs of my youth, thanks to REM. Rather more importantly (unless you care a lot about teenage angst) our collective loss of belief matters hugely for how society has evolved. When I was born, twice as many of us were Christians as had no religion. Today, more of us are atheists than Christians and it appears only slightly over half of British Christians believe in God.

Recent research published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior found that people attributed more moral traits to attractive (vs. unattractive) individuals. This finding was conceptually replicated in a second study when matching traits on perceived warmth.

A recent study has shown that some astronauts could suffer from a "space anemia." A study from the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital studied 14 astronauts after they had been to space. Studies have shown that 54% more red blood cells are destroyed by the human body in space than on Earth.

Anti-seizure medication doesn’t work in every person with epilepsy. But a treatment option is emerging that would spare the need for brain surgery.

Findings may lead to ways to delay, or even roll back, the course of the fatal disease in its early stages

Losses in the number of birds and mammals are limiting the capacity of plants worldwide to adapt to climate change by curbing seed dispersal. About half of plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, and research has shown the importance of large animals for transporting seeds over long distances. But the impact of wildlife declines on seed dispersal hasn’t been measured at a global level before, which Evan Fricke at Rice University, Texas, set out to address.

Young women who consume little to no red meat and dairy are at risk of developing vitamin deficiencies that could lead to health problems later in life, a scientist has said. Professor Ian Givens, director of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health at Reading University, told a briefing at the Science Media Centre that half of young women aged between 11 and 18 were consuming below the minimum recommended level of iron and magnesium.

Lacing the beer served at their feasts with hallucinogens may have helped an ancient Peruvian people known as the Wari forge political alliances and expand their empire, according to a new paper published in the journal Antiquity. Recent excavations at a remote Wari outpost called Quilcapampa unearthed seeds from the vilca tree that can be used to produce a potent hallucinogenic drug. The authors think the Wari held one big final blowout before the site was abandoned.

You may have experienced some signs you’re in love. Can’t get someone out of your head? Daydreaming about them when you should be working? Imagining your futures together? These dizzying thoughts are just a few of the telltale signs you’re in love.

Scientists have discovered more about why space travel makes astronauts anaemic when they return to Earth. Canadian researchers say 50% more red blood cells are destroyed in space and this continues for however long the mission lasts. As a result, long voyages to the Moon, Mars and beyond may be a challenge, they say. But their insights could benefit bedridden patients on Earth with the same condition.

Men who believe their level of masculinity is closely tied to their penis and its size are more likely to endorse sexist beliefs, according to new research published in the journal Psychology of Men & Masculinities. The authors of the study saw there was a gap in the research literature when it came to the relationship between men’s view of their penis and their perceptions of masculinity.

A unique study led by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has reported some of the first robust evidence to affirm multiple sclerosis (MS) is primarily caused by infection from the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Tracking more than 10 million US military personnel over a…

A research effort led by Stanford scientists set the first Guinness World Record for the fastest DNA sequencing technique, which was used to sequence a human genome in just 5 hours and 2 minutes.