Whether it’s your head, tooth, or back, when you’re in pain, it’s hard to think about anything else. If it’s not too strong, some can ride it out. But in many cases, the pain just gets worse and won’t go away until you take something. Medicines that kill pain are called analgesics and they vary in how they work. No single painkiller can relieve all types of pain. Those that work for mild pain usually have little effect on severe pain unless combined with a stronger painkiller.

On the ancient Japanese Buddhist practice of self-mummification. By Erika Nesvold.

Since advertisers pay less to access your attention than your attention is worth, an excessive amount of advertising is produced. We are continuously swamped by attempts to distract us with messages we don't want or need.

A Los Angeles undertaker wants to end our estrangement from death by bringing corpses back home. By Rebecca Mead.

As the sun sets, many elderly patients can change drastically: They can become extremely confused, agitated, not know where they are, and even hallucinate.

People are so sensitive these days! People are just offended by every little thing! Millennials, amirite?!

New research finds that heterosexual people with pathological personalities have better success finding mates. By Karl Gruber.

What doctors used to call mass hysteria usually occurs among close-knit groups as anxiety weaves its way through, causing physical symptoms. By Ian Sample.

Arabic translator Alice Guthrie explains how Daesh, the new name for ISIS, undermines the terrorist group, and asks why anglophone media can't understand it. By Alice Guthrie.

Click on an organelle to zoom in and explore that cell part.

Modern Educayshun delves into the potential dangers of our increasingly reactionary culture bred by social media and political correctness.

When it comes to teaching kids the Golden Rule, Sunday school might not be the best bet. A new study in the journal Current Biology found children in religious households are significantly less generous than their non-religious peers. At the same time, religious parents were more likely than non-religious ones to consider their children empathetic and sensitive to the plight of others.

The annual Starbucks red cup has stirred up some controversy

Breakthrough by researchers at Stanford University could lead to therapy that would coax heart cells into forming new arteries

Photos of insect wings manipulated to look like blooming flowers by French photographer Seb Janiak.

In the future, social robots will most likely step in as our carers, companions, and teachers. But will we actually empathize with them in the same way that we are supposed to with each other? In a study published on Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers present neurophysiological evidence that confirms humans feel empathy when they see a human-shaped robot hand get hurt, similar to when they see an actual human hand hurt.

In early modern Europe, the art of food presentation went well beyond plating.

The question was not “Should you eat human flesh?” says one historian, but, “What sort of flesh should you eat?” By Maria Dolan. (2012)

Evil stepmothers, witches and crones: When they aren't poisoning princesses, they're mangling mermaids or trying to eat children. One writer traces these villains' roots to a fear of female power. By Elizabeth Blair.

Science deniers are not all religious nuts: most of them just wish science would stop changing its mind about everything

An article entitled “Meat consumption and mortality – results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer [EPIC] and Nutrition” was published on 7 March 2013 in the BMC Medicine Journal.

Over the years the placebos used in drug trials have been getting more effective, especially in the US. Why?

A Chinese biotechnological company announced that it has developed the world's first 3D blood vessel bio-printer, which makes it possible to produce personalized functional organs, the media reported. Sichuan Revotek, based in Chengdu, said the significant breakthrough has been achieved through its self-developed stem cell bio-ink technology, 3D bio-printer and cloud computing platform, the China Daily reported.

Fang Od is part of the last line of traditional Kalinga tattoo artists in the Philippines. This type of authentic tribal tattooing was once done for head hunters and to beautify women.

Independent scientists and nutritionists at the Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl) have today published new guidelines for healthy eating for children. The guide...

If a movie exists, there’s a porno about it.

Prinzmetal’s angina is a form of chest pain, pressure, or tightness (angina) caused by spasms in the arteries that supply blood to the heart.